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SCHOOL HYGIENE 



BY 



EDWARD R/ SHAW 

PROFESSOR OF THE INSTITUTES OF PEDAGOGY 
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY 



Ketn gork 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. 
I9OI 

A/i rights rtservd 



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THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two Copies Received 

MAY 22 1901 

Copyright entry 
CLASS vt-XXc. Na. 

99 f^ 

COPY 8. 



l.^ 



Copyright, iqoi, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



J. 8. Gushing & Co. — Berwick * Smith 
Norwood Masi. U.S.A. 



PREFACE 

In this work the author has endeavored to set forth 
the conditions which should surround pupils at school, 
in order that their mental and physical health may be 
thoroughly protected. He holds that it is in the high- 
est degree incumbent upon school authorities to provide 
the best attainable conditions, not only to protect, but 
also to promote the health of pupils committed to their 
care. The school exists for the betterment of the state 
of society. In its equipment and management the 
newest and best recommendations which are approved 
by science should at once find their way into adoption 
and use. The home may be educated to a great extent 
through the school. As the school, therefore, reacts 
closely upon the home, a knowledge of that which is 
lygienically best can in no other way be so quickly 
and thoroughly diffused. The author desires to express 
his thanks to Supt. Charles E. Gorton of Yonkers, N.Y., 
for valuable suggestions and careful reading of a large 
part of the work, and also to his colleague, Linnaeus 
E. La F^tra, M.D., for suggestions and additions to 
the chapter on Diseases which Concern the School. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

The Schoolroom ........ i 



CHAPTER n 
The School Building 30 

CHAPTER HI 
School Grounds • 5^ 

CHAPTER IV 
Warming and Ventilating -65 

CHAPTER V 
Sanitation no 

CHAPTER VI 
School Baths 128 

CHAPTER VII 
School Furniture 135 

CHAPTER VIII 

Postures and Physical Exercises . . . . ' ^57 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER IX 

rAGB 

Eyesight and Hearing 170 

CHAPTER *X 
Handwriting 200 

CHAPTER XI 
Conditions conducive to Healthful Mental Work . 227 

CHAPTER XII 
Diseases which concern the School . . . .235 

Bibliography 253 

Index 257 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

The most grievous single obstacle in the way of the 
spread of sound educational principles is the popular 
view that the essentials of education are limited to 
instruction in reading, writing, and arithmetic. It might 
fairly be argued, and with no small force, that the pos- 
session of so much knowledge alone is a positive detri- 
ment to a human being, especially if that knowledge has 
been gained at the expense of physical and moral habits 
which in educational value far outweigh such meagre 
intellectual attainment. The story of the way in which 
this misconception has imbedded itself in the popular 
consciousness, together with the larger confusion of 
education with instruction, is a long one and need not 
be recounted here; it is sufficient to say that sound 
educational theory to-day finds no place for any mental 
training which overlooks the relation of mind and body 
and its hygienic and ethical import. 

It is not too much to say that health, its provision and 
protection, is all-controlling in present day educational 
theory, although it is unfortunately far from being so in 
practice. The chief reason for this discrepancy between 
the ideal and the real is simple ignorance. Teachers 
and parents do not recognize that eyesight is being 
impaired, normal growth prevented, blood poisoned, and 



X EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

the body starved, because the hours of school life are so 
often unhealthy and abnormal hours. School buildings 
are constantly erected with a view to exterior effect 
alone, and an adequate system of ventilation and a proper 
site are pronounced too costly. Years of useful, happy 
life for scores of human beings count as nothing in com- 
parison with the opportunity for immediate saving of a 
few hundred dollars. School boards and school archi- 
tects would not, of course, consciously pass any such 
judgment; it is lack of knowledge and lack of appre- 
ciation of the facts which make it possible. 

Just so it is utterly fallacious to urge the compulsory 
attendance of children at school, regardless of the 
school conditions. It is not true that a child is always 
and everywhere better off in any school than running at 
large in any village or city. If the class-room is already 
overcrowded, if there are already far too many pupils 
assigned to a teacher, then every additional pupil who 
is brought in injures those who are already there and 
receives injury himself. For this reason our compulsory 
attendance laws need to be enforced with great discre- 
tion, so long as present conditions exist, lest they defeat 
their own purpose. 

In the present volume the author brings the essential 
facts of school hygiene or school health within the reach 
of any inquiring parent or tea.cher. He has done a 
special service in examining with particular care the 
hygienic aspects of instruction in handwriting, and in 
passing in review the general conditions favorable to 
mental work. 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xi 

We have come to realize that the connection between 
physical health and the power of voluntary control, and 
consequently of conduct, is very close. Preservation of 
health is therefore an aid to character building, and the 
subject of school health makes a double appeal to us. 

Nicholas Murray Butler 

Columbia University, New York 
April 25, 1 90 1 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 

CHAPTER I 

The Schoolroom 

The schoolroom the unit in planning a school build- 
ing — In this book we shall first enter upon a consid- 
eration of the schoolroom from the point of view of 
hygienic requirements, in order to direct attention more 
strongly to its fundamental requisites. We hold that 
the schoolroom should be the unit first to be con- 
sidered in planning a school building, and that the 
building should be a number of schoolrooms, properly 
disposed, and not a whole cut up into schoolrooms, 
whose size and arrangement are dependent upon the 
size and shape of the building. If the hygienic require- 
ments of a schoolroom are first clearly and fully under- 
stood, and then firmly held in mind, the building is 
much more likely to be considered as the grouping of 
the number of schoolrooms required, with halls and 
other auxiliaries, and is, therefore, much more likely 
to be so planned as to give each unit, or schoolroom, 
what the laws of health demand for the pupils who 
are to occupy it. 

B I 



2 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

The general form of the schoolroom should be that 
of an oblong, with the aisles between the desks running 
the long way of the room. One advantage of this 
shape is the better lighting of the schoolroom which 
it affords. Another advantage is that the pupils are 
able to see more clearly and with less effort, whatever 
apparatus the teacher finds it necessary to present, be 
it chart, globe, map, physical apparatus, or exercises 
written on the blackboard behind the teacher's desk. 
Under such conditions, these objects receive the least 
possible foreshortening to pupils who happen to be 
sitting on the teacher's extreme right or left. 

The size of the schoolroom is dependent upon several 
factors. Certain conclusions with reference to its size 
have at last been reached, and these conclusions have 
been so thoroughly tested and sanctioned by the most 
careful school men as to warrant their being regarded 
as standards. These standards are the results of inves- 
tigations and repeated experiments, in which- lighting, 
heating, ventilating, the needs of the child as to eye, 
and ear and other physical requirements, have been 
considered. They are the outcome of the special 
knowledge and recommendations of physicians, archi- 
tects, and engineers, and of the practical judgment 
of school men, after repeated test and modification. 

These standards demand, in the first place, 15 sq. ft. 
of floor space and 200 cu. ft. of air space for each 
pupil, as the least amount of floor space and air space 



THE SCHOOLROOM 3 

permissible for a schoolroom, when all the needs of 
health are fairly considered. In the second place, 
they demand that the size of the schoolroom should 
be 30 ft. in length, 25 ft. in width, and 13 ft. in height, 
to accommodate not more than 48 pupils. 

It will be seen that with a schoolroom 30 ft. long, 
2$ ft. wide, and 13 ft. high, for 48 pupils, each pupil 
will have a little more than 15 sq. ft. of floor space, 
and a Httle more than 200 cu. ft. of air space. If such 
a room can be Umited to 40 pupils, there would be 
i8| sq. ft. of floor space and 243I cu. ft. of air space 
to each pupil. Such conditions are in this case prefer- 
able to 15 sq. ft. of floor space and 200 cu. ft. of air 
space. But an increase of square feet of floor space 
per pupil which would increase the dimensions of the 
room in length and breadth is not permissible ; for 
the distance light will carry, admitted at the side of the 
room, or at the side and back of the room, the distance 
pupils can see without strain upon the eye, and the 
distance the words of the average teacher are clearly 
audible, are determining factors as to the length and 
width of the schoolroom. 

One writer on school hygiene gives 32 x 24 ft. as 
the length and width of a schoolroom. With a proper 
amount of glass surface to admit sufficient hght, the 
room may safely be made one foot wider than this, 
that is, 25 ft. wide, when the ceiling is 13 ft. in height. 
But if the room is 32 ft. in length, and Hghted from 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



the side and the rear, the desks of some pupils, in 
order to receive the greatest amount of Hght, must 
be placed too far away from the front blackboard 



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straining the 














eyes. 














Schoolrooms 


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for higher 
grades — Some 
writers on 
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smaller school- 
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Fig. I. 






mary grades, 












on the ground 



that primary desks and chairs occupy less space than 
chairs and desks for higher grades. It will be seen 
that making the room smaller reduces the number 
of cubic feet of air space to each pupil. In Fig. i 
is shown a schoolroom 25 x 30 ft, seated to accom- 
modate 48 primary pupils. By comparing Fig. i with 
Fig. 2, a room seated for 48 grammar pupils, the 
gain in space not required by primary seats and desks 



THE SCHOOLROOM 



5 



will be seen. This additional space is especially needed 
in primary schoolrooms, to give opportunity to conduct 
different exercises and activities at the same time, 
a practice 
which has 
now become, 
through divi- 
sion of chil- 
dren into 
groups, an 
important 
one in pri- 
mary teach- 
ing. 

Besides, 
more floor 
space is 
needed in 



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Fig. 2. 



a p r 1 mary 
room, in order 

that the teacher may provide for the greater motor 
necessities of primary pupils. Primary pupils should 
not spend more than one-third of the time at school 
in their seats. Exercises of various kinds that call 
into play muscular activity are most imperative at 
this age, not only for mental growth, but also for 
physical growth, as well as for relief from the fa- 
tigue which sitting at desks occasions in children. 



6 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

Let those who recommend the smaller schoolroom 
for primary pupils consider the change which a child 
experiences when he begins school life. He enters 
an environment radically different from the life of 
varied activity and freedom from confinement which 
was his before school days began. Let it be also 
remembered that so severely does the new environment 
tax the child that he usually falls off in weight, his 
nervous system becomes affected, and certain physical 
functions become more or less disordered. 

More air space and floor space are imperative in 
primary grades, because activity for the child is vital. 
The lack of floor space to give the child the physical 
activity his rapidly developing organism requires, the 
lack of floor space to afford him relief from the fatigue 
which even the most approved school desk causes, 
may be set down as a condition which fosters habits 
of defective posture that end in permanent distortion 
of the body. Faulty habits of sitting result from fa- 
tigue and inactivity even with hygienic desks. An 
abundance of space, therefore, for physical activity, 
making this a contributing part or an accompaniment 
of the mental exercises, would save many a child from 
falling into postures that at last become permanent 
and, in later years, so pronounced that all attempts 
to correct them prove futile. 

Instead, then, of decreasing the size of primary 
rooms, we would keep them the size of the standard 



THE SCHOOLROOM 




schoolroom, 25 x 30 ft., and absolutely limit the number 
of pupils to 40. 

A primary schoolroom, therefore, of 25 x 30 ft, 
for even 40 pupils, is none too large, if the teacher is 
to be given opportunity to provide for the healthy 
development 
of the child 
in its mental 
and"^ physical 
nature. 

In Fig. 3 is 
shown the 
plan of a pri- 
mary room 
seated for 
40 pupils. 
When it is 
remembered 
that a part of 
the space un- 
occupied by 
the desks and 



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□ □ □ □ □ 

□ □ □ □ □ 

□ □ □ □ □ 
00000 



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Fig. 3. 



desk chairs must be given up to teacher's desk, to sand 
table, and to number table which also serves for 
certain kinds of manual work, it will be seen that 
there is no more space than is necessary to meet the 
hygienic demands of the pupils for physical activity. 
If it is desired to furnish more than 15 sq. ft. 



8 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

of floor space to each pupil, it can be done, provided a 
sufficient amount of light is admitted. A higher ceiling, 
with the windows reaching up to it, will give more Hght, 
but the higher ceiling necessitates the climbing of longer 
stairways by pupils going to all floors above the first. 
There are, also, other objections to high ceilings which 
will be pointed out in the next chapter. 

It may be said, however, that with i8 sq. ft. of 
floor space to each pupil, all class-room exercises are 
made easier for teacher and pupil. 

Lighting of the schoolroom — The schoolroom cannot 
be too well Hghted. Writers upon school hygiene 
uniformly agree that the amount of transparent glass 
surface admitting Hght should be from one-fourth to 
one-sixth of the floor space of the room. The amount 
of glass surface, therefore, in the windows of a stand- 
ard schoolroom, 30 x 25 ft., would be 187.5 or 125 
sq. ft., as we adopt the larger or the smaller ratio. In 
building schoolhouses the lower ratio is too frequently 
adopted. There is perhaps no other matter in school 
equipment so deceptive as the adequate Hghting of the 
schoolroom. It is a very simple matter to measure ex- 
actly the ventilation of a schoolroom, or the humidity 
of the air at any given time. But the measurement of 
the degree of illumination is much more complicated 
and difficult. Empirical or practical judgment is of 
little account as to whether a room is sufficiently 
lighted. A room may seem well lighted, and may be 



THE SCHOOLROOM 9 

pronounced well lighted, when only the general illumi- 
nation of the room is considered. When, however, 
tests are instituted, it will Hkely be found that there 
are desks where the lowest illumination is below the 
permissible minimum. On clear days, when there is 
an abundance of sunlight, a room with the lowest ratio 
of transparent glass surface conceded by writers on 
lighting will be strongly lighted, provided, of course, 
the sky as seen from the pupils' desks is not partially 
obstructed by buildings or trees. 

But the amount of transparent glass surface required 
for proper illumination must not be determined by 
the illumination such area will give on clear and 
bright days. The amount of transparent glass surface 
must be great enough to afford sufficient illumination 
on rainy, overcast, and otherwise dark days. During 
the first week in November the illumination on a 
desk 5 ft. from a large window was measured 
early in the afternoon, with the sun shining. The 
window had a clear sky exposure. The illumination 
of the same desk was measured ten minutes later, 
but when the sun was obscured by heavy passing 
clouds. The illumination with the sun obscured was, 
according to the measurement, one-third of the illumi- 
nation when the sun wa,s shining. It should be stated 
that the window faced a west-northwest direction, and 
that at the time of the measurement the sun had not 
reached a position to shine into the room. 



10 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

During the part of the year from the middle of 
October to the first of March, the sun is running low 
in the heavens, and the illumination it affords is not 
so great as during the part of the year when the sun 
is higher in the heavens. If, further, we take the 
time from the first of November to the middle of 
April, there is a large proportion of rainy a.nd dark 
days. The amount of glass surface must, therefore, 
be great enough to admit sufficient light on cloudy 
days, and also on the dark days of the part of the 
year just mentioned. 

The point to be emphasized is that in determining 
the amount of transparent glass surface necessary for 
the lighting of a schoolroom, provision for sufficient 
illumination on dull days is likely to be overlooked. 
Could all school days be clear days, with bright sun- 
shine, a standard schoolroom with clear sky exposure 
would be well lighted in every part if the transparent 
glass surface was one-eighth of the area of floor space. 

The amount of illumination for the desk in the most 
unfavorable part of the room should not be less than 
fifty candle metres. This is greater than the amount 
required by Cohn, which it seems to the writer is too 
low. Cohn's requirement is based on measurements 
with Weber's photometer, and the various reductions 
of Hght made necessary by the method which this in- 
strument necessitates, lead to underestimation. 

By a candle metre is meant the illumination 



THE SCHOOLROOM II 

afforded by a standard candle at one metre's dis- 
tance. If the illumination falls below fifty candle 
metres, the pupil's eyes are subjected to an undue 
strain in ordinary work at his desk. 

For rooms, then, having a southern exposure and 
clear sky line, the amount of transparent glass sur- 
face should be one-fourth of the amount of floor 
space, in order to insure a sufficient illumination on 
dull days. It is always an easy matter to exclude 
light by means of shades, if in bright weather so 
much enters as to produce a dazzling effect. For 
rooms having a northern exposure, th® amount of 
glass surface should be somewhat greater than one- 
fourth of the floor space. 

Rooms with windows having obstructed sky line — 
If the expanse of sky is partially obstructed by 
buildings or trees, provision must be made to coun- 
teract this. Tests on the diffusion of light through 
windows set with prismatic, maze, and factory 
ribbed glass, made at the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology in September, 1900, by Charles L. 
Norton at the suggestion of Edward Atkinson, have 
an important bearing on the Hghting of schoolrooms. 
The conclusions reached are of especial value, and 
the application of the knowledge resulting from these 
experiments will solve the problem of increasing the 
illumination of schoolrooms, where the expanse of sky 
is largely cut off by the proximity of buildings. 



12 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

In Fig. 4 an enlarged section of the factory ribbed 
glass which gave the best results is shown. The 
factory ribbed glass, plane on one side, and 
having twenty-one ribs to the inch in true curves, 
concave and convex, proved to be the most effec- 
tive. It is made in large sheets for glazing, and 
costs about the same as good double thick glass. 
For schoolrooms 20 to 30 ft. in width or length, 
as the direction may run from the windows, 
and with a sky angle of sixty degrees or less, 
the effective lighting can be increased on bright 
days fifty per cent, and on dark days more 
than fifty per cent if the upper sash is glazed 
^^" ^' with factory ribbed glass. If in addition to this 
the upper half of the lower sash is glazed with the 
ribbed glass, the increase in the illumination of the 
room will be much greater. The glass should be set 
with the ribs running horizontally, and if the sun's 
rays fall upon it, it should be protected by a thin 
white shade. 

Sometimes glazing with factory ribbed glass will 
give more effective lighting if it is set with the ribs 
running vertically ; as for instance, when there is a 
narrow vertical opening exposing a low sky line be- 
tween buildings opposite the schoolroom windows, and 
which otherwise obstruct the expanse of sky. 

The illumination of schoolrooms may also be very 
greatly increased by employing sashes or canopies 



THE SCHOOLROOM 1 3 

made up of Luxfer prisms, especially when the win- 
dows open upon narrow streets, courts, or alleys. 
These prisms gather direct light from the expanse 
of sky above the tops of buildings, and reflect and 
diffuse it with imperceptible loss into the school- 
room. 

The Luxfer prism is simply a thick small pane of 
glass with raised prisms on one side, a photograph 
of which is shown in Fig. 5 (facing p. loi). The 
panes of glass are each four inches square, and the 
angles of the raised prisms vary in different panes, so 
as to gather hght from any expanse of sky from forty- 
five degrees of exposure to the zenith, and also to 
refract the light gathered to any part of the room 
desired. The great value of these prisms lies in the 
fact that they may be so placed as to take the strong 
light from the clear expanse of sky, and by refraction 
and reflection throw it back into the parts of the room 
where hght is needed. 

When the angle from the zenith to the limit of 
sky expanse as seen from the window is known, 
and also the direction in which the Hght must be 
distributed in the room, proper prism panes are 
selected, copper strips are placed between them, and 
then the panes are firmly glazed by means of elec- 
tricity into one large pane. This is inserted in the 
sash if the angle of the sky exposure will permit, 
or it is placed outside the window at an angle as a 



14 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

canopy if the angle of sky exposure is small. Light 
is thereby equally distributed to all parts of the room. 

Much relief for the eyes of children would be 
afforded by providing factory ribbed glass or Luxfer 
frames or canopies for the windows of all schoolrooms 
insufficiently Hghted. And it may be remarked that 
the number of such schoolrooms in our cities is exceed- 
ingly large. 

Mr. Edward Atkinson, in a statement prefacing the 
investigations referred to above, points out that the 
upper sash of schoolroom windows might be glazed 
with prisms to deflect the light to the white ceiling, 
from which it would be reflected to the desks. Cloth 
shades would then not be needed, even on the sunny 
side of the building, and the danger of any bright lines 
of Hght injurious to the eyes of. pupils being thrown 
on the desk would be obviated. 

Direction from which light may enter — Having con- 
sidered the amount of light necessary for a school- 
room, we pass to a consideration of the direction 
from which the Hght should enter, and also the dis- 
position of the windows of a schoolroom. 

There are two directions from which all authorities 
are agreed the light should not enter. First, from 
the front of the room, as the light comes directly 
into the eyes of the pupils ; secondly, from the right, 
as this causes the pupil in all exercises with pen or 
pencil to look at his writing or ciphering in the 



THE SCHOOLROOM 1 5 

shadow cast by his hand. Shadows and half shad- 
ows are always to be avoided. Persons whose sight 
is beginning to be impaired are first made aware of 
it by their inability to see to read in half shadows. 

There is a unanimity of opinion that light may enter 
from the left. Under these conditions the pupil in 
writing and drawing sees his work clearly, there being 
no half shadow of the hand to obscure it. 

There is, however, a difference of opinion as to 
whether light should be admitted from the rear of the 
room. The main points in lighting are that there 
shall be an abundance of light and that it shall be 
so distributed and diffused as to avoid half shadows, 
as partial shadows are very injurious to eyesight. 

Some authorities recommend that windows be placed 
in the rear of the schoolroom. Windows admitting 
light from the rear of the room can be so arranged 
that the light coming from them will be well distrib- 
uted and well diffused. Such windows, however, 
must not admit so much or so strong light as to over- 
power that coming from the left, otherwise the pupil 
would be working in a partial shadow. Windows in 
the rear of the room also often afford a means of 
lighting a room with diffused light, when the shades 
on the left side of the room are drawn to shut out 
the direct rays of the sun. 

There is, however, one objection to placing windows 
in the rear of the room. The teacher's eyes are likely 



l6 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

to be weakened and injured by facing the light from 
windows so placed. There is rehable testimony to war- 
rant the statement that the eyes of at least seventy- 
five per cent of teachers would be injured by facing 
such light. It may be added that in France windows 
in the wall opposite the teacher's desk are expressly 
forbidden. 

On the other hand, it has been said that the teacher 
may change her place frequently, or, if provided with 
a swivel chair, may change her position with relation 
to the light. 

There are some conditions under which windows 
may be placed on the right side in order that a school- 
room shall be sufficiently lighted. This statement may 
at first appear to be in contradiction of the requirement 
already set forth, that light should come from the left. 
Although light should never fall on the pupil's desk 
directly from the right, yet windows may be placed, if 
absolutely necessary to secure sufficient light, on the 
right side of the room, provided great care is exercised 
as to their size and position. In case, then, a school- 
room is insufficiently lighted and more light cannot 
be admitted from the left or rear, the windows placed 
on the right should have their sills 8 ft. above 
the floor, and the amount of light admitted by such 
windows should in no instance be strong enough to 
overpower the light admitted from the left. Otherwise 
the stronger light from the right would cast a partial 



THE SCHOOLROOM ,^\y 

shadow of the pupil's hand on the paper, and in 
writing, drawing, or ciphering, this partial shadow 
would shade the part of the paper to which he is 
directing his vision. The accommodation of the eye, 
therefore, would be constantly taxed to adjust itself to 
the different degrees of illumination on the paper, and 
the eye would suffer injury. 

The suggestion made by Javal, and seconded by 
Cohn, that the schoolroom be lighted from above, is 
to be approved theoretically, but when the sugges- 
tion is considered with reference to its practical 
aspects, it is not feasible in the building of school 
houses. 

Spaces between windows — As has already been 
stated, bands of light in alternation with shadows are 
injurious to the eye. It is plain, then, that the win- 
dows should be set with the least possible space 
between them; for if set with a large distance be- 
tween them, the light is admitted in bands, and there 
are deep shadows between these bands. Such alter- 
nate zones of light and shadow are injurious to the 
eye. The piers between windows should be as nar- 
row as possible. Cohn recommended that the piers 
between the windows, instead of being rectangular, 
should be bevelled. Mr. Warren R. Briggs has used, 
in school buildings constructed by him, a cast-iron 
mullion between windows. By this means he has 
avoided ordinary piers of brickwork i8 in. wide, 



1 8 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

and has reduced the distance between windows to but 
little more than that required for the window frames 
and weight boxes. 

Height of windows — The windows should extend as 
near the ceiling as possible, leaving no wall space 
between the trim of the window and the ceiling ; 
that is, the glass should reach to within 6 in. of the 
ceiling. The higher the window extends, the better 
is the illumination, as the Hght coming in at the top 
of the window is reflected from the ceiling, and" is 
therefore better diffused, while a considerable amount 
of the light coming in at the bottom of the window 
is absorbed by the floor, desks, and wainscoting. 
Actual measurements show that the upper fourth of 
the window furnishes one-third of the Hght coming 
through the whole window. In a well- lighted school 
building recently erected at Zurich, the glass surface, 
by a peculiar device in construction, extends up to 
the ceiling. 

It will be obvious, therefore, that windows arched at 
the top decrease the admission of light at its most 
valuable point, and are not to be sanctioned for a 
schoolroom, unless the ceiHng is so high that the 
lower points of the arch are at least 13 ft. above the 
floor, the windows wide, and the requisite amount of 
transparent glass surface is provided. 

Nor should the windows have a transom at the top. 
The bar separating the transom from the remaining 



THE SCHOOLROOM I9 

part of the window excludes light, and also produces a 
half shadow. The transom, moreover, is Hkely to be 
covered with a fixed shade, and thus light is excluded 
at the most valuable part of the window opening. 

The sills of the window should be of such a height 
from the floor that the Hght entering the lowest part 
of the window will not produce reflections from the 
tops of the desks, or be on a level with the eyes of 
pupils when they are seated at their desks. If the win- 
dow sills are 4 ft. from the floor, both these injurious 
effects of lighting will be clearly avoided. Window 
sills, however, may be safely made 3J ft. above the 
floor. Robson, an Enghsh authority, gives 5 ft. as the 
height of window sills from the floor. If window sills 
are 5 ft. from the floor, the amount of glass surface is 
considerably decreased, provided the height of ceiHng 
is kept at 13 ft. With windows having a width of 40 
in. of glass, there is a loss of 5 sq. ft. of light opening 
to each window. If there are six windows on the side 
of the room, there is a loss of 30 sq. ft. of opening — 
or 6|- sq. ft. more than the opening afforded by a win- 
dow under the assumed conditions; namely, 7 x 3J ft. 
With sills 5 ft. from the floor, therefore, rooms which 
must be Hghted from the left side only would fall con- 
siderably below the amount of transparent glass surface 
necessary to light them properly. But with the sills 
3j ft. from the floor, the window may be 9 ft. in 
length. Making the width of glass 42 in., the window 



20 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

would afford 31.5 sq. ft. of glass surface. With six 
windows on a side, there would be 189 sq. ft. of glass 
surface, or rather more than one-fourth the area of 
floor space. 

This length of window and height of sill are advo- 
cated because of the increased transparent glass sur- 
face which they afford, such an amount being needed 
on dark days for adequate illumination. It will be 
seen that by employing opaque shades rolling from 
the bottom, as recommended by Marble, light may be 
shut out from the bottom of the window when there 
is sunshine or an abundance of light out of doors, 
and the strong light may thus be excluded from the 
eye level of the larger pupils — the heads of the 
smaller pupils when seated being below the lowest 
bar of the sash. On overcast and dark days, light 
entering at such a level for large pupils will not 
prove in the least objectionable. 

Although the requisite amount of glass surface 
could be secured by making the ceiling higher than 
we recommend as best for health when all factors 
are considered, yet there is something to be said on 
the grounds of mental if not physical health, against 
adopting 5 ft. as the height of window sills. With 
this height few children can look out of the windows. 
This results in a serious deprivation, and such a con- 
dition must invest the schoolroom, to the minds of 
the pupils, with an air of confinement, an influence 



THE SCHOOLROOM 21 

which is extremely baneful. The child's mind, when 
not occupied with his tasks, at recess, and during the 
hours of intermission, is rested and refreshed by look- 
ing out of the window. He is interested in the outer 
world, no matter what it may chance to be, and it has 
an important contribution for him in many particu- 
lars, which must not be cut off even in the school- 
room. 

The placing of windows — The windows admitting 
light from the left should begin as near the back 
corner of the room as possible. There seems to be 
no reason, with care in construction, why the first 
window may not come as near the corner as 2 ft. 
Numerous instances of such distance are to be found 
in school buildings recently erected. The windows 
on the left side should be placed with the least pos- 
sible distance between them. If the room is lighted 
from the left side only, the windows, in order to give 
the requisite amount of transparent glass surface, will 
need to extend nearly to the front end of the room. 

If there are windows at the back of the room, 
these should be as large as possible, but not so large 
as to admit light enougn to overpower that coming 
in from the left and so produce half shadows. The 
one nearest the left corner need not be so near the 
corner as the side window, but the distance of this 
window from the corner should be increased in order 
to place the end windows so that light may be afforded 



2± 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



to the right side of the room. Figure 2, page 5, 
and Figure 6 show the placing of windows for two 
schoolrooms, one where it is possible to light only 

from the left, 
and the other 
lighted from 
fhe left and 
the rear. 

It may be 
remarlced that 
it is better so 
far as lighting 
is concerned 
to have the 
fewest num- 
ber of panes 
of glass in a 
window. One 
pane for the 
lower sash 

and one for the upper will prove best. The windows are 
the more easily kept clean, and none of the available 
window opening is obscured by the cross-bars of the sash. 
Color of Walls — An important matter related to the 
lighting of the schoolroom is the color of the walls. 
In view of the stress which has been laid upon the 
necessity for the fullest illumination of the schoolroom 
possible, no color must be put upon the walls which 



u n 


HT □ 


1 

□ □ 


1 n 1 1 


□ □ 


MM 


MM 


□ □ 


□ □ 


1 U M 


□ □ 


1 1 1 


n n 


n n 


MM 


.MM 


u u 


MM 


U L_ 


□ n 


1 1 U 


, MM 


□ n 


u n 


loo 









Fig. 6. 



THE SCHOOLROOM 23 

absorbs light to an appreciable degree. In selecting 
the color for schoolroom walls, it becomes a question 
of determining what color will, in the first place, ab- 
sorb the least amount of light, and in the second 
place, prove least taxing to the eye. It is plain, 
then, that the red end of the spectrum, or, in other 
words, reds of all tones, are to be avoided, as these 
absorb too great a proportion of hght. Light yellows 
and buffs have been recommended by some on the 
sole ground, it seems, that they absorb the least 
amount of Hght, and are, therefore, very favorable 
to illumination. In this recommendation, however, 
some very important factors have been overlooked. 
Investigations have brought out the fact that yellows 
produce fatigue and nervousness to a marked extent, 
as compared with other colors. Yellows are not rest- 
ful to the eye. The quality of the sensation produced 
by them seems to be fatiguing. 

On the other hand, the abundance of green in nature 
when illumination is the strongest would seem to indi- 
cate, as many hold, that green is restful to the eye. 

If, further, we examine the curve of the degree of 
illumination of the solar spectrum, we shall find that 
green lies next to yellow in degree of illumination. 

Again, the contrast between the Hght reflected from 
green and ordinary diffused dayHght is less for the 
eye than the contrast between light reflected from 
any other color and diffused dayHght. 



24 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

These facts would seem to lead one to favor some 
greenish color for the walls of a schoolroom. A light 
green gray, as near to white as possible, is recom- 
mended. The Ught greenish gray should be soft and 
not harsh. It may be produced by the proper com- 
bination of pigments. Antwerp blue and raw sienna 
with white as a base will give the proper tint. 

The walls should in every instance be painted, in 
order that they may be washed. There should be no 
gloss, and the paint when put on should be stippled 
to prevent all reflection. 

The ceiling should be white, in order that the least 
possible amount of light may be absorbed by it. 

The color of shades and their arrangement — The 
color of the shades should be the same in tone as 
that of the walls, but somewhat darker. The shades 
should be opaque, and it may be remarked that 
not only can a better color be secured when the shades 
are tinted (water-color wash), but such shades are 
more durable and give less trouble from continued 
wear in rolling up and down than holland shading. 
The opaque shades are for the purpose of excluding 
the light at times when the light is dazzHng, as on a 
sunny day with the earth covered with snow, and at 
other times when it is necessary to temper the effect 
of light in the schoolroom. These shades should 
roll up from the bottom of the window, in order to 
exclude the light from the levels just above the pupils' 



THE SCHOOLROOM 



25 



eyes first, leaving the upper part of the window open 
so that the light may be more evenly diffused through 
the room by coming in near the ceiling. 

The plan quite widely adopted of having two shades 
to a window, one for the upper half and one for the 




7 \ 




Fig. 7. Fig. 8. 

lower half, rolling up and down respectively from two 
rollers hung across the middle of the window, is to be 
condemned. This plan for excluding light invites, of 
itself, an abuse of hygienic conditions. Light is usually 
excluded with the shades drawn as in Fig. 7, or as 
in Fig. 8, thus producing strata of light and half 



26 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

shadow, a condition which, for reasons already given, is 
injurious to the eyes. 

Venetian bhnds are not to be tolerated in the school- 
room, as they admit bands of high light in alternation 
with dark bands of shadow — a condition extremely 
deteriorating to vision. They are, moreover, collectors 
of dust. 

If it is necessary to exclude the direct rays of the 
sun, a translucent white shade may be placed inside the 
opaque shade, to roll down from the top, as recom- 
mended by Marble. 

Direct rays of sunlight should never be allowed to 
fall on a desk at which a pupil is sitting, as the intense 
Hght in contrast with the comparatively softer illumina- 
tion of the room irritates and weakens the eyes. 

Arrangement of desks — In Fig. 2, p. 5, a plan 
for the seating of the schoolroom is given. It will 
be noticed that the whole body of seats is placed as 
near the light as possible. The aisles alongside the 
windows are, for this reason, made as narrow as 
permissible. This affords the additional advantage 
of securing a wider aisle near the blackboard. The 
wider aisle gives space for pupils to pass those who 
may be working at the blackboards, and it also 
affords space for other school exercises. 

Earlier in this chapter reference was made to the dis- 
advantages of seating pupils so as to face the long side 
of the room. It will be seen by comparing the plan of 



THE SCHOOLROOM 2/ 

seating shown in Fig. 2, p. 5, with the plan shown 
in Fig. 9, that those pupils who sit in the outer row of 
seats on each side of the room in which the desks face 
the long side of the room are at a disadvantage as to 
distance and the foreshortened view under which they 



r 



1 






n I] c 


1 1 n 


u u n 


n 


L 




r 


1 


=1 


1 






n 


n 


1 






1 


u 


D Zl 


u 


n 








[= =! 


1 









n 1 

1 



Fig. 9. 

are obliged to look at any object, such as a piece of 
apparatus of any sort on the teacher's desk, a map 
behind the desk, or any illustration or explanation 
put on the blackboard. 

Blackboards — The slate blackboard is to be pre- 
ferred to any other kind, as it can be washed without 
injury, and thereby the sifting of deleterious crayon 
dust into the air be somewhat lessened. Various 
shades of slating are offered by school supply dealers, 



28 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

but grays and brownish blacks are to be avoided. 
The slate chosen should be either green or a strong 
black. 

When slate is not used, blackboards can be made 
by pasting tough manila paper of suitable thickness 
on the wall and then painting and slating this. If the 
paint and slating are of a dark green color, the effect 
will be found very pleasant to the eye, and the legibil- 
ity of white crayon thereon will prove fully equal 
to its legibihty on a slate board. 

There cannot be too much blackboard in a school- 
room. The sending of pupils to the blackboard to 
write various exercises affords pupils a most necessary 
relief from the cramping and tiring positions of even 
the most approved hygienic desks. If it is found that 
blackboards around the entire room, where the wall 
space permits, absorb too much light, or give the room 
an appearance displeasing to the eye, shades of the 
same tint as the walls may be arranged on spring 
rollers of convenient length, to be drawn down over 
the entire blackboard or the parts not in immediate use. 

For primary grades, the blackboards should be 
placed 26 in. from the floor. For intermediate grades 
they should be placed 30 in., and for grammar grades 
36 in., from the floor. All boards should be 4 ft. 
wide. 

Every blackboard should be provided at the bottom 
with a trough 2^ in. wide. The trough should have 



THE SCHOOLROOM 29 

an open woven wire cover, with ^ in. mesh, set with 
hinges. The object of this cover is to permit the 
crayon dust to fall through it into the trough, and so 
lessen to the greatest degree possible the stirring up 
of crayon dust by those who are working at the black- 
board. At regular times the covers should be raised 
and the troughs thoroughly cleaned. 

A platform for the teacher's desk and chair is un- 
sanitary, as dust and dirt collect behind and underneath 
it. Because of its interference with the free movement 
of pupils at the blackboard behind the teacher's desk, 
the platform has been almost wholly discarded from 
the class-room. 



CHAPTER II 
The School Building 

The value of thorough construction and planning — 

The school building should be constructed of the 
best materials put together in the most substantial way 
and with the very best workmanship available. Thor- 
ough construction of the very best material is in the 
end the most economical not only of money but of 
time. By building thoroughly and substantially, the 
day of repairing or altering is put off to the utmost. 
It is well for school authorities to remember when 
they set about the erection of a new building, that in 
all probability it will stand for forty or fifty years and 
perhaps longer, and that therefore only the very best 
and, at the same time, most thoroughly approved ideas 
as to planning, construction, and equipment should be 
embodied. Too often school authorities do not give 
themselves sufficient time in which to build thoroughly 
and substantially; for the determination of what, in 
these days of rapid progress, are the most approved 
advances and the reasons therefor, consumes a great 
deal of time and renders the planning and erection of 
a new school building a laborious undertaking. Un- 

30 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 3 1 

looked-for difficulties arise in regard to modifying, 
adapting, and adjusting, which call for the most care- 
ful and painstaking examination, if the wisest decision 
under the circumstances is to be reached. As is too 
frequently the case, a new schoolhouse is so urgently 
needed, that in the haste to erect one many defects 
are allowed to pass, while others are overlooked. The 
demand for school accommodations may be exceed- 
ingly urgent; but even under urgent demands months 
of waiting is advisable if in the end as perfectly plan- 
ned and thoroughly constructed a building as possible 
is erected. When it is remembered that the building 
will in all probability stand for at least a generation 
and a half, the enduring of crowded conditions for 
a time longer is a matter of comparatively lesser 
moment ; but a defective building, entailing discomfort 
as long as it stands, is always an object of criticism, 
and a source of regret on the part of those responsible 
for it. Conditions are never so bad but that they 
may be relieved to a considerable extent and endured 
somewhat longer, especially if provision for the best 
accommodation is being made. In no case should the 
building be hurried ; neither, on the other hand, should 
its construction be permitted to drag along and an un- 
justifiable length of time be consumed in its erection. 
If possible, the school building should be built of 
brick or stone, having as many of the interior walls 
as possible of brick. The danger from fire in school 



32 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

buildings which are constructed of wood is so great 
as to debar the erection of wooden buildings in every 
community, except perhaps in small country villages, 
where, as a rule, the extra expense for brick con- 
struction could not be met. 

Position of building — The school building should 
be so placed that there may be a free circulation of 
air about it. It should be as far back from the"" street 
as possible to avoid dust and noise, but a position 
well back from the street must not be given it if 
such a position would bring the building near other 
buildings in the rear, and cut off the light. The rule 
has been laid down that a line drawn from the foot 
of the wall of the school building to the top of the 
nearest building should not make an angle greater 
than thirty degrees with the horizon. When condi- 
tions will possibly admit of this, it will be found to 
promote in a most satisfactory measure the well- 
being of the successive generations of pupils. For 
not only does the observing of this requirement in- 
sure much better-Hghted rooms, precluding injurious 
effects upon the eyesight of pupils, but rooms from 
which an expanse of sky may be seen are more 
conducive to cheerfulness. Rooms shut in by neigh- 
boring buildings exert a depressing influence upon 
the minds of those obliged to occupy them. 

In addition to the foregoing suggestions as to the 
position of the building, it is further held that the 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 33 

building should stand so as to receive as much sun- 
light as possible. Some authorities recommend that 
the building should stand so that the direct rays of 
the sun may enter as many class-rooms as possible 
some time during the hours of sunshine. The recom- 
mendation is an excellent one, for the sun not only 
imparts cheerfulness, but is nature's purifier. Di- 
rect sunhght, it is well known, acts as a disinfect- 
ant, arresting the spread of infectious diseases. In- 
fectious germs of most diseases do not grow and 
multiply in cultures made in direct sunhght. 

It will be evident, then, that trees should not 
stand so as to overshadow any part of the building, 
as they not only cut off light necessary for sufficient 
illumination, but render the rooms damp and, there- 
fore, unhealthful. 

Number of stories to be limited — Dr. Lincoln holds 
that it is desirable, where possible, to Hmit the height 
of the building to two stories above the street. On 
hygienic grounds there can be no question that a 
school building should not exceed two stories in 
height. Especially is this Hmitation to be regarded 
in the case of high schools and schools conducted 
on the department plan, as in this type of school 
pupils must pass from the lower to the upper 
floors several times a day. With buildings three 
and four stories high, as is often the case, there 
is a strain imposed in chmbing so many flights 



34 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

of Stairs, which is injurious to all pupils, and espe- 
cially so to girls. 

Basement — There should be a basement under the 
whole building. Its walls should rise sufficiently 
high from the ground to permit thorough Hghting, 
and if possible the entrance of the sun's rays. The 
basement should be carefully protected against damp- 
ness. In order to secure this, the walls of the 
basement floor must be so constructed as to be im- 
pervious to the passage of water or moisture through 
them. In the construction of the wall a layer of 
asphalt or a layer of tarred paper well covered with 
coal tar should be placed between the layers of 
bricks on a level with the lower side of the base- 
ment floor. The outside of the walls should be 
asphalted or thoroughly covered with coal tar from 
the layer of asphalt or tarred paper between the 
bricks up for sufficient distance above the ground so 
as to prevent the spatter from rain and melting snow 
from imparting moisture to the bricks. 

The bottom of the basement should be filled with 
broken stone and cement up to the level of the 
asphalt which has been placed in the walls, then 
a coat of asphalt should be spread over this con- 
crete floor to join with the layer of asphalt or 
tarred paper placed in the foundation walls. It will 
readily be seen from Fig. lO, p. 35, how by this 
plan moisture may be kept from entering the build- 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 



35 



ing through the foundation walls and basement or 
cellar floor. 

In buildings with a basement, if this is used as a 
playroom or for students to pass through, hygiene 
requires that it should not have a cement floor, as 




■V -" ■-" ^ t Coal tar ■ ' 

Fig. io. 
the cement wears off while the children are playing 
or marching, and the air becomes filled with a heavy 
dust that is especially deleterious. The floor should 
be of asphalt or of some hard wood. 

Experience has shown that a large number of the 
fires in school buildings originate in the furnace room, 
which usually occupies a part of the basement. In 
order, therefore, to provide as much security as pos- 
sible against disaster in case of fire, this room should 
be fitted with iron doors to shut it completely off 
from the stairways and rest of the building. 

Wooden school buildings should have a foundation 
wall at least two feet above the ground ; and if there 
is no basement or cellar, provision should be made 
for thorough ventilation underneath. 



36 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

Entrances — The school building ought not to have 
less than two entrances, and if the school is located 
in a closely populated city there should be as many 
entrances as possible, a number sufficient to permit, 
in cases of emergency, the depletion of the entire 
building in three minutes. The entrances to a city 
school ought to be wider than the stairs which come 
down to the entrances, so as to relieve the pressure 
when in cases of accident it becomes necessary to 
deplete the schoolrooms in the shortest possible time. 

In a well-planned building every entrance for pupils 
will be provided with a vestibule and storm doors 
to protect children who come early, and in cold and 
windy weather to prevent the wind blowing directly 
into the corridors and producing strong draughts. 

Corridors — A serious mistake too often made in the 
construction of school buildings is that of allowing 
an insufficient amount of space for the halls or cor- 
ridors — of cutting these down to the narrowest limits, 
and thus imposing additional difficulties upon teachers 
and pupils as to ingress and egress. It seems a 
difficult matter for those intrusted with the erec- 
tion of school buildings to realize the importance 
of making the halls or corridors sufficiently wide. 
The main corridors or halls of a school building 
ought to be at least lo ft. in width, and 12 ft. 
will be found a more satisfactory width. But 
while too narrow halls are to be emphatically con- 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 3/ 

demned, excessively wide halls, on the other hand, 
are to be avoided. Very wide halls are occasionally 
seen in school buildings, and, besides the original 
increased cost in construction, they entail additional 
expenditure to keep clean the unneeded floor space 
and to warm and ventilate the unneeded air space. 

The corridors or halls of most school buildings 
receive too little light. Special care should be taken 
to have them thoroughly lighted by direct light from 
large windows at the ends of the halls. If the halls 
are long, then light should be introduced from the 
adjoining schoolrooms through large windows. The 
sills of windows for lighting the hall should be 8 ft 
above the floor. One caution, however, as to the kind 
of glass for these windows needs to be stated. Trans- 
parent or factory ribbed glass should be used, and not 
ground glass, as measurement shows that about seven- 
tenths of the light is lost in passing through ground 
glass. 

The doors at the entrances of the building should 
open outward. 

The doors which connect the class-rooms with the 
corridors should be 3 ft. 6 in. wide for the standard 
schoolroom. 

Stairways — There should be at least two stair- 
ways in every school building, and these should lead 
directly to the upper floor of the building. The plan 
of having in three-story buildings two stairways up 



38 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

to the second floor, and but one stairway from the 
second floor to the third floor, is exceedingly danger- 
ous — as this stairway might easily be cut off in cases 
of fire, and a shocking loss of life ensue. 

In mixed schools, one stairway should be assigned 
to boys and another to girls. Separate stairways in 
mixed schools are a right of the community on moral 
grounds. Special care should be exercised on the 
part of the architect not to place these stairways in 
the centre of the building. Such an arrangement is 
most hazardous in case of fire. The stairways, there- 
fore, should be at the ends or sides of the building, 
and should be easily accessible from the contiguous 
class-rooms. 

It has been strongly urged that stairways should 
not be constructed with balustrade, but should be of 
a form called box stairways, thus precluding the pos- 
sibility of children's falling over the banisters in 
cases of hurry and excitement in getting out of the 
building. The record of accidents with open stair- 
ways is made the ground for this recommendation. 
There are other authorities who hold that box stair- 
ways are unsightly, and that the balustrade may be 
built sufficiently high to preclude the possibility of 
accidents. 

Whether the stairways are of the box or the balus- 
trade pattern, there should be a hand rail on each 
side sufficiently low that it may be grasped by the 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 39 

smallest pupils that pass up and down the stairway. 
Many schools in which small pupils must ascend stair- 
ways have two hand rails, the lower one for the safety 
of smaller children, and the upper rail for the use of 
the larger scholars. 

Wherever in the erection of a school building it 
can possibly be effected, stairways should be built 
of iron with slate treads or treads made of steel and 
lead. Such stairways are not combustible, and are 
not a positive source of danger in case of fire. 

We have already spoken of the fact that halls or 
corridors are not sufficiently lighted. The same fact 
is true of stairways in most school buildings. It is 
overlooked that most light is needed when the stair- 
ways are filled with the children in passing in and 
out, and that at these times there is the greatest 
absorption of light. 

The stairways ought to be at least 5 ft. wide, and 
each stairway should be broken by a square landing, 
or better by an oblong landing. This landing should 
break the stairway as near as possible in the middle, 
but in any event not less than eight steps ought to 
be permitted between landings. A less number is a 
temptation to jump the entire distance. The landing 
not only affords rest for the muscles of the child in 
climbing the long flights, a very important matter in 
itself, but it is also a guard against accidents. At 
each floor, where the stairway terminates, there should 



40 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

be a long landing. Under no circumstances are diag- 
onal steps permissible in a school building. The 
constant danger of accident from these determines 
why they cannot be allowed. It will be seen that 
the same objections, although in greater degree, stand 
against the construction of any spiral stairway in a 
school building. 

Height of risers and width of treads — The stairs 
in all school buildings should be easy for children 
to pass up and down. This is a question, therefore, 
of the child's requirements and not the require- 
ments of adults, and must largely be determined 
from the point of view of the child's needs. The 
matter turns upon the height of the risers and the 
width of the treads. Under no conditions should 
the risers, that is the perpendicular distance from 
one step to the next, exceed 7 in., and this will be 
found too high. From 6 to 6^ in. is the proper 
height. It will be seen that in high schools stairs 
may be constructed with the risers 6J in. high. In 
school buildings for grammar and primary grades, the 
risers should be 6 in. and the treads not greater than 
12 in., care being taken that the nosing of the treads 
does not project more than i J in. beyond the plane 
of the risers. If the nosing is wide it is equivalent 
to reducing the width of the tread, and requires an 
effort of attention on the part of the pupil in ascending, 
to prevent catching the toe on the edge of the nosing. 



I 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 



41 



\ 



It is held that stairs with 6 in. risers and 11 in. 
treads are the easiest for children. 

Floors — The floors of the school building should be 
constructed of maple, birch, or oak, to be serviceable 
and to prevent excessive spread of the particles of 
wood in the atmosphere of the school room, 
due to constant wear. Maple and birch, how- 
ever, shrink and swell considerably under 
certain conditions. Red oak has been found 
to give good satisfaction. First quality comb 
grain Georgia pine makes good floors, but so 
much pine is sold under that name that, unless 
special precaution is exercised, a grade of pitch 
pine is likely to be used that slivers and thus 

forms openings 

for the constant 
collection and 
diffusion of 
dust. After a year's wear such pine takes on an un- 
sightly appearance which constantly grows worse in 
this respect as long as the floor lasts. If Georgia 
pine is used it will be rendered more serviceable if 
two coats of linseed oil are appHed to it. The filling 
of the cracks of the floor cannot, on hygienic grounds, 
be too strongly urged. The junction of the floor and 
wainscoting or surbase should be finished with a cove 
as shown in Fig. 11, so that sweeping and cleaning 
may be more quickly and thoroughly done. 



7 



Fig. II. 



42 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

The floor of a school building should be sound 
proof. This is only partially accomplished by laying 
double floors with felt paper between. To render 
floors thoroughly sound proof, the beams should be 
filled in with mortar. 

Trim and walls — As so much emphasis has been 
put upon the utmost possible exclusion of dust from 
the school building, a word must be added in regard 
to the walls and the trim over windows and doors. 
The junction of the walls and the ceilings should 
be concave, finished in a form similar to that recom- 
mended in regard to the junction of floors and 
wainscoting. All cornices, mouldings, and ledges of 
whatever kind, upon which dust may fall and collect, 
must be unhesitatingly rejected in determining the 
interior finish of the building. 

The walls should not be covered with paper, as 
this gathers and holds dust ; but they should be painted 
so that they can be washed. 

Attic floor — If the school building has an attic, it 
will be found advantageous on grounds of economy 
and comfort to cover the attic with a floor. When 
an attic is not floored great waste of heat results, 
due to the rapid radiation from the ceilings and 
the walls in winter, besides the fact that the walls 
become cold enough to interfere with the ventilation 
of the rooms. In hot weather these walls and 
ceilings become heated from the roof, and render the 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 43 

rooms under them much warmer than if the attic 
were floored. 

Wainscoting — Objections have been raised in the 
last few years to wooden wainscoting on the ground 
that it is unsanitary, and a finish of cement mortar 
has been recommended, even along corridors and 
stairways. Such a finish, however, even when put up 
in the best manner, becomes in a short time dented 
and broken from the usage to which it is subjected, 
and presents an unsightly appearance. In the newer 
school buildings in Scotland and England, the unsani- 
tary character of wood wainscoting and the lack of 
durability of cement mortar are obviated by using 
glazed brick or tiles. While such a finish is to be 
thoroughly approved, its use to any great extent in 
this country will be prohibited by its large expense. 

Cloak-rooms — Every primary and grammar school 
should be provided with a cloak-room for each class- 
room. These cloak-rooms should connect with the 
hall and with the class-room. They should be lighted 
from the outside, and should be heated and thor- 
oughly ventilated, so that odors arising from the 
clothing may be carried off, and the clothing be 
dried in damp weather. A cloak-room, the proper 
size for a standard class-room, should contain 150 sq. 
ft. of floor space. In many school buildings hat and 
coat hooks are put in the corridors or halls, and 
pupils' clothing is hung there. Such a method of 



44 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



providing cloak room is to be strongly condemned, 
not merely on the ground of the unsightly appearance 
which the halls of the school building present, but 
because of the odors emanating from the clothing, 
and the danger of infection from disease. The base- 



"X 



JJ 



J^ 



^P 





Fig. 12. 



ment, moreover, ought not to be used as a cloak- 
room. 

In the best-equipped schools, cloak-rooms are fitted 
up in either of two ways. According to the first way, 
a shelf 15 in. wide, thoroughly supported by strong 
brackets, runs around the walls of the room 5 ft. from 
the floor. On the under side of the shelf, 1 5 in. apart 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 45 

and about in the middle of the shelf, double coat-hooks 
are screwed. A full circulation of air about clothing 
hung on hooks so arranged is afforded. It therefore 
dries quickly. Hats may be placed upon the shelf 
above the individual hooks. The second way is shown 
in Fig. 12. A series of compartments is made by 
placing boards lO in. wide and lO in. apart vertically 
around the walls of the room. The uprights curve 
in at the bottom so that the cloak-room may be easily 
swept. They are also blocked out from the wall to allow 
some circulation of air behind the clothing. A shelf rests 
on the top of the uprights. Ten inches below the shelf 
are shelves between the uprights. On the lower shelf 
the pupil may put his lunch basket or his overshoes. 

The second way has some advantages from the point 
of view of the individual pupil, but from a sanitary point 
of view it is perhaps a little less satisfactory than the first. 

Disposition of rooms — In the description of a stand- 
ard schoolroom in the first chapter of this book, the 
opinion was promulgated that a school building should 
be conceived from the point of view of enclosing the 
number of standard schoolrooms required, with corri- 
dors, cloak-rooms, and other accessories, rather than 
from the point of view of first determining the size of 
building that could be erected for the appropriation, 
and then proceeding to divide it up into class-rooms, 
cloak-rooms, and corridors, as the amount of space 
would permit. In other words, the first thing to be 



46 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



considered in the planning of a school building is the 
disposition of the required number of schoolrooms, and 
after this the planning of the outer walls and the roof 
of the building. In Fig. 13, a floor plan of a school 
building with four rooms is shown. By observation of 




Fig. 13. 



the plan it will be seen that the length of one room is 
perpendicular to the length of the contiguous room. 
Such a plan admits of the introduction of the great 
mass of light from the left of the pupils, besides pos- 
sessing the advantage that the pupils face the long way 
of the room, a method of seating the reasons for which 
have already been given in Chap. I. Compare now 
the plan shown in Fig. 13, with a typical plan of build- 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 



47 



ings with four rooms on a floor, frequently met with, as 
shown in Fig. 14. In the last plan the pupils would 
be seated facing in the direction indicated by the 
arrows. It will be seen, then, that in rooms i and 4, 
the aisles between the seats run the short way of the 




Fig. 14. 

room, and the great amount of light comes from the 
rear, and the illumination on the pupil's book or paper 
is lessened because the Hght is intercepted by his body. 
In rooms 2 and 3, the greater amount of light comes from 
the left, and the aisles run the long way of the room. 
One-half the pupils, then, on this floor, by virtue of the 
plan, are subjected to conditions deteriorating to eyesight. 



48 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



Defective floor plans — We give, now, a few sketches 
of what we regard as defective plans of school build- 
ings, pointing out the defects of those plans. The 
plans are taken from printed reports of Boards of 
Education, and from educational journals. They are 




I 



Fig. 15. 

all of buildings recently erected, and from widely 
separated parts of the North and West. The eleva- - 
tions are purposely omitted. 

An examination of the plan shown in Fig. 15 shows, 
first, that when the other conditions are considered 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 49 

there is an undue amount of space given to the cor- 
ridor. It will be noticed, further, that instead of cloak- 
rooms small places are partitioned off in the halls for 
wardrobes, two for each room, one being appropriated 
for girls and the other for boys. These enclosures for 
hats and coats and wraps are without ventilation other 
than the ventilation of the corridor; they are con- 
spicuous and unsightly in appearance, and reduce the 
proportions of the corridor to the eye. 

It will be noticed upon further examination that the 
stairways have two landings. They need have but one 
landing, and might begin nearer the doors of the ad- 
joining class-rooms, and thus insure a quicker, easier, 
and safer exit of pupils from the building. Judging 
from the plan, one of the stairways is not as well 
lighted as it might be. 

The class-rooms numbered i, 2, 3, and 4 are 28 x 32 
ft., with ceiHngs of 12 ft. They are lighted, it will be 
observed, from two directions. These rooms are too 
large, especially with ceilings of 12 ft., and fully a 
fourth of each room, the parts of the rooms near the 
corridor, are insufficiently lighted. In order to bring 
the light from the left and the rear, pupils would have 
to be seated facing in the direction shown by the 
arrows, the teacher's desk in each room being indi- 
cated, in the drawing, by the letter D. It will be 
noticed, therefore, that in rooms 2 and 3 the pupils 
would be seated with the aisles running the short way 



50 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

of the room, a plan of seating which is objectionable for 
reasons given in Chap. I. Furthermore, it is evident 
that some rows of desks and parts of rows would be 
placed in those parts of the room having insufficient 
light. In rooms i and 4, the light coming from the 
rear overpowers the light coming from the left. But 
this is the only way in which the rooms can be seated 
without having the light come from the right or 
having the children face the light. In rooms i and 4, 
then, since the light coming from the rear overpowers 
the light coming from the left, the pupil would be 
working continually in a shadow cast by his body. It 
will be seen, moreover, that the teacher would have to 
face this light a great deal of the time, and would thus 
be subjected to conditions very taxing upon eyesight. 

If some of the space given to the corridor had been 
taken and added to a space 2 ft. wide taken from 
each room, fair-sized cloak-rooms contiguous to each 
class-room could have been formed. 

The room marked 5 is a teachers' room, and the 
room marked 6 an emergency room. The plan of 
having an emergency room for the reception of pupils 
in cases of sickness and accident is to be highly com- 
mended. Every large school without an emergency 
room is defective in its equipment. 

In Fig. 16, there is shown a floor plan of the 
second story of another school building. The class- 
rooms in the plan are marked i, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. 



i 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 



51 



They vary slightly in size, but are approximately 25 x 
32 ft The cloak-rooms are marked 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 
and 12. Room 13 is a reception room. The corridor 




Fig. 16. 

! is 16 ft. wide, and unless lighted by a large number 
! of windows in partitions dividing class-rooms from the 
corridor, would prove too dark. 



52 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



It will be seen from what has been said of the 
previous plan that rooms 2 and 5 seat badly. The 
Hght from the rear overpowers the light from the left, 

causing the pupils always 
to work in a shadow cast 
by their bodies on the 
printed page, copy-book, or 
I " - pad. All the • schoolrooms 

are too long for pupils in 
the rear seats to see the 
blackboard behind the 
teacher's desk when seats 
are set so that the aisles 
run the long way of the 
room. 

It will be noticed that 
pupils must come from the 
corridor into the schoolroom 
with their wraps on, and then 
pass into the cloak-rooms. 
A door leading from the 
corridor into the cloak-room, 
with a door leading from 
the cloak-room into the class- 
room, under ordinary cir- 
cumstances seems to be preferable, as the entrance of 
the class into and its exit from the schoolroom are thus 
effected more conveniently and in better form. 




Fig. 17. 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 



53 



The defect spoken of in regard to rooms 2 and 5, 
in which the light from the rear overpowers the light 
coming from the left, thus obliging the pupil to work 
in a shadow, could have been remedied by a disposi- 
tion of the cloak-rooms as shown in the sketch of one- 




FiG. 18. 



half of the building given in Fig. 17. Such a plan 
leaves a small lobby at the entrance of room 2, but 
this arrangement is not inimical to eyesight, and is 
far less objectionable than having pupils sit so that 
they work in the shadow cast by their bodies, as 
when seated so that the aisles run the short way of 
the room. 



54 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



In Fig. 1 8 is shown another floor plan of a recently 
erected school building. The class-rooms are marked 



WW ■ H ■ tawa 




Fig. 19. 

I, 2, 3, 4, and 5, the corridor 8, the library 6, the 
principal's room 10, and the lobbies 7 and 9. The 
class-rooms are 24 ft. 6 in. wide by 32 ft. long ; the cor- 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 55 

ridor is 16 ft. wide. It will be seen that the corridor is 
badly lighted, and that there are no cloak-rooms, but 
narrow wardrobes inside the class-rooms. It would 
seem as if the lobby rooms were unnecessary, and 
that the space devoted to them, together with some 
of the space of the corridor, could have been appro- 
priated for cloak-rooms, which even then would have 
been smaller than is desirable, but greatly preferable 
to the narrow wardrobes. 

The class-rooms would be seated with pupils facing 
in the direction shown by the arrows. It will be 
seen again in this plan that in two rooms, i and 4, 
the rear light overpowers the Hght from the left. The 
illumination also in room 3 is very poor. Two-thirds 
of the room has no window admitting light. 

We add another first-floor plan of a recently erected 
building, Fig. 19, p. 54. Rooms i, 2, and 3 are class- 
rooms; 4 is a teachers' room, with toilet adjoining; 5, 
6, and 7 are the wardrobes ; the closets marked T and 
B are respectively for the use of the teacher and for 
books. An examination of the plan shows that the 
halls are crowded, and that if the wardrobes, to which 
the same objection can be made as in the plan shown 
on p. 48, Fig. 15, were removed, the corridors would 
have sufficient space. The stairways are too much 
in the centre of the building. The rooms are larger 
than necessary, being about square in shape rather 
than oblong, and therefore, unless a large amount 



56 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

of space is allowed for each pupil, not so convenient 
for the order and direction of the school as an oblong 
room. Two of the class-rooms, it will be noted, are 
lighted from three directions, an arrangement which 
cannot be recommended. The building, it may be 
stated, stands at the corner of two streets, and at the 
side and rear the light is not cut off by high buildings. 
In what direction the building faces is not known 
from the plan. Under general conditions, however, 
even with careful use of shades, it is possible that 
the light in most of the rooms would come in more 
strongly from the rear or from the right side than 
from the left side. The schoolrooms might safely 
have been made oblong in shape, and some of the 
space given to them appropriated for cloak-rooms. 
It is plain from further study of the plan that a par- 
tition might have been run along the whole length of 
the side of schoolroom No. 2, as indicated by the dotted 
line, and an entrance to the hall made where the 
book closet is now placed. The same thing could 
have been done in schoolroom No. 3, as indicated by 
the dotted line. In schoolroom No. i the cloak- 
room could have been thrown across the side of the 
schoolroom, as shown by the dotted line. The space 
beyond the proposed cloak-room, together with the 
space given to the book closet, could have been 
thrown into the corridor, and the entrance to the 
schoolroom made here, leaving near the wall a small 



I 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING 57 

book closet, as indicated by the dotted line. The 
windows in the wall which extends from the pro- 
posed book closet could then have been omitted, 
and the pupils could have been seated facing this 
wall. The light would then have come from the left 
and rear, and the aisles between desks would have 
run the long way of the room. 

The changes suggested in this plan would afford 
plenty of wall space for well-lighted blackboards. 
The lack of such space in rooms i and 3 as shown 
in the plan is a striking defect. 



CHAPTER III 
School Grounds 

Centrality of location — In the selection of a school 
site, centrality of location with reference to the school 
population must be first considered. The point involved 
here is convenience of distance for the greatest number 
of pupils. There are, however, several other factors 
which must be taken into consideration besides centrality 
of location. 

Site away from noise and polluted air — In the first 
place, a site well back from the street is to be desired. 
In a city, especially if it is a crowded one, a main street 
should be avoided. The school site must not be chosen 
near industries which render the air in their neighbor- 
hood charged with various gases, smoke, or smells. 
The site, moreover, should not be near noisy industries 
or a railroad. It should not be near any place where 
much dust is being continually stirred up, nor should 
a site be chosen from which filthy neighborhoods or 
dilapidated buildings come into view; neither should 
the site be in proximity to any neighborhood where 
degradation or immorality of any kind is likely to be 
witnessed by pupils on the playground or from the 

58 



SCHOOL GROUNDS - 59 

windows of the school building. In the country, the 
site chosen must not be in the neighborhood of a swamp, 
a marsh, or stagnant water. Carpenter says that the 
neighborhood of rank vegetation is to be avoided, as 
it indicates an impure soil. 

Character of the ground — The character of the ground 
of the school site is also to be considered in the matter 
of selection. The ground chosen should be well drained 
naturally. It should be pervious to water. The soil 
should not be damp, as dampness conduces, it is be- 
Heved, to catarrh and other ailments. A clayey soil is 
to be avoided from the fact that there is moisture con- 
tinually rising from it, and there is a peculiar coldness 
to the air above a clayey soil. The soil must be free 
from ground water, or water which collects in the in- 
terstices of the soil. Sometimes in rocky ground this 
water collects in pockets formed of rocks, and becomes 
stagnant. A site having much ground water, unless 
this can be thoroughly remedied by careful drainage by 
means of pipes laid underground, should be abandoned. 
The recommendation has been made that if the ground 
water is found nearer than 15 ft. below the surface, 
it should be uniform as to its level, and not subject 
to rise at intervals. If the ground water rises and falls, 
such conditions must receive very careful consideration 
before a decision is reached as to the selection of such a 
site. By digging a hole, the level of the ground water 
may be ascertained, and also the further fact as to 



60 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

whether it rises and falls. Its highest level, it is claimed, 
must not be less than 3 ft. below the level of the base- 
ment floor. 

Draining — If there is no other ground than springy 
soil available for the school site, the ground about the 
building may be drained by digging a trench around the 
foundation walls but far enough from them for absolute 
safety, and laying in this trench drain tile with loose 
joints. The drain tiles should discharge away from the 
building, and should be laid a considerable distance 
below the cellar floor, as cementing the cellar floor or 
wall will not effectually keep out ground water.^ 

Soil free from organic matter — The soil of the site 
chosen should also be free from organic matter; 
hence, made soil or marshy ground should not be 
selected. Little as we are given to regarding such 
conditions, they exert a marked effect upon the air 
above such ground, and also upon health. Besides 
the moisture rising from such soils, they contain a 
considerable amount of contaminated air. They are 
all porous, and such soils become charged with what 
is called ground air. This is led upward through the 
floor of the building, either by the warmth of the 
building or on account of the rising of ground water, 
and is a source of considerable danger to health. It 
is not necessary here to call attention to the pollution 
of the ground from sewers and other contaminations 

1 Lincoln. 



SCHOOL GROUNDS 6 1 

SO common in cities, as one's own senses have ren- 
dered these facts sufficiently impressive ; but I regard 
it necessary to dwell to some extent upon the 
atmospheric pollution of the ground, as the reasons 
why there is such pollution are not as widely known 
as they should be. The air finds its way into the 
soil from atmospheric pressure and the processes of 
diffusion. The falling of ground water after it has 
risen draws, as will be seen, air back into the ground. 
Composition of ground air; its exclusion — As a 
result of various analyses of ground air, it has been 
found that such air undergoes many changes, and its 
composition is markedly different from that of the 
normal atmosphere. The most conspicuous alteration 
that air undergoes in the soil is in the large percent- 
age of oxygen that disappears. A short distance 
below the surface, the proportion of oxygen has been 
found as low as 7.4 parts per 100 of air instead of 
20 parts approximately, as found in the atmosphere. 
The oxygen which has thus disappeared has been 
appropriated by micro-organisms that exist where pro- 
cesses of fermentation and decomposition are going 
on. Again, in the various analyses of ground air to 
which I have referred, carbonic acid gas, COg, has 
been found to be present in amounts which vary 
from 0.2 per cent to 14.0 per cent, instead of 0.04 
per cent as in the normal atmosphere. Coating the 
outside walls and bottom of the basement with coal 



62 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

tar to render the wall impervious to moisture, as 
recommended in Chap. II, p. 35, serves also to 
exclude the passage of ground air into the building. 

Elevation of site and grading — The site chosen 
should be elevated, but should not be on the slope of 
a hill, if this can be avoided. If the school site has 
to be chosen situated on a slope, grading and drain- 
ing should be provided so as to prevent the flow of 
ground water or rain toward the foundation. The 
site should therefore be so graded as to slope away 
from that side of the building toward which the land 
sloped before grading, and drain tile should be so 
placed as to carry away the water. 

The school site, wherever situated, should be so 
graded as to slope away from the building on all 
sides. The slope ought not to exceed i in. for every 
3 ft. One authority recommends 3 in. of slope to 
every 10 ft. If the school site is located on a long 
slope, then the site should be so graded that there 
shall be a slope from the building toward the higher 
ground. 

Size of site — In determining the size of the site, the 
amount of space that should be given to playground is 
the iirst point to be considered. A space of 3 square 
metres for every child is the standard most frequently 
recommended in Germany. Professor Burnham of 
Clark University, who has given great attention to this 
point, concludes that in this country 30 sq. ft. are 



i 



SCHOOL GROUNDS 63 

necessary for each pupil, to meet all the demands of 
play. According to this standard, a school of a 1000 
pupils would require a piece of ground 300 by 100 ft, 
that is, twelve city lots, for playground alone. 

The site should be large enough to admit of some 
ornamentation of the grounds, especially in front of 
the building, in order that the influence emanating from 
the cultivation of the beautiful be not overlooked. 
However, as between space for playground and space 
for ornamentation, other things being equal, there can 
be but one conclusion held, namely, that games are 
immeasurably superior to ornamentation, in conduc- 
ing toward mental development alone. When we put 
with this the benefits accruing to health in sacrificing 
room for ornamentation to playground, the conclu- 
sion reached in favor of playground has additional 
strength. The playgrounds should be on the sunny 
side of the building, and be sheltered from cold winds 
by the building, and by evergreens and a hedge if this 
is admissible. If evergreen trees are used for protec- 
tion from winter winds, these should be placed at a 
sufficient distance from the building so as not to cut 
off light from the schoolrooms in any degree whatever. 
In cities where land is very costly, the roof of the build- 
ing may be utilized for a playground. For the full pur- 
poses of play, if there is no gymnasium connected with 
the school, there should be on the playground covered 
sheds for play in rainy weather. 



64 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

Covering of the playground — The school site may 
be covered with natural gravel, or in some places with 
asphalt. Gravel has the advantage of being clean, and 
ground so covered may be frequently sprinkled to avoid 
dust. Sand mixed with gravel has been suggested. A 
hard covering to the playground, such as hard asphalt or 
stone flagging, has the disadvantage, as has been pointed 
out by a French authority, of restricting children in 
their movements, and thus depriving them of full 
opportunities for the coordination of muscles, and the 
more exact and perfect development of their physical 
powers. Jumping, which is Ukely to be indulged in 
by boys, and girls as well, leads to more or less injury 
when the surface upon which the pupils jump is hard 
and unyielding, as in the case of flagging or very 
hard asphalt. 

Entrances — The entrances to the school grounds 
should be ample, so that egress and ingress of pupils 
may be rapid. There should be separate entrances for 
boys and girls. 



CHAPTER IV 
Warming and Ventilating 

Steam and hot water systems — For warming school 
buildings steam heat is regarded by many as the 
most convenient, the most economical when cost of 
installation is counted, and, taking all factors into 
consideration, the most satisfactory means. Steam 
requires a less amount of pipe and radiating surface 
than hot water. As it is an intense heat, rooms can 
be more quickly warmed. Steam radiators can be 
shut off in rooms not in use, and there is much 
less danger from frost than in a hot water system. 
Others hold that hot water heating is much to be 
preferred. The heat coming from hot water radiators 
can be the more evenly regulated, it is less intense, 
and therefore more agreeable. The cost of installing 
a hot water system is, however, greater than the 
cost of installing steam, and requires more careful 
workmanship. But it is claimed that after the cost 
of installation, the hot water system can be operated 
at a considerably less expenditure for fuel. The 
tests which have been made between the amount of 
fuel required for steam heating and for hot water 
F 65 



66 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

heating must, on the whole, be regarded as favor- 
able to hot water. 

Steam has the advantage, when the pressure is 
high enough, of being available as a means of power 
for driving the ventilating fans, and it has been 
found in certain cities that the exhaust steam from 
the engine used to drive the fan is one-third of the 
amount required to keep the building at a proper 
temperature. If, however, the building is heated by 
a low pressure system, the steam is not available 
for propelling the fans. 

It is not the purpose in this book to enter into 
any discussion of steam fitting. Steam heating and 
fitting, as a branch of mechanical arts, has reached 
such a stage of perfection that any reliable heating 
engineer can install an effective system of steam 
heating. In this matter, however, as in the matter 
of ventilation, school authorities ought not to accept 
and rely upon the representation of business firms 
engaged in furnishing heating apparatus, but should 
rely upon the best expert advice uninterested com- 
mercially in the matter. 

Defects of hot air systems — The difficulty with hot 
air systems is that they too often deliver air that is 
overheated and so deficient in water-vapor as to be 
positively injurious to the health of school children. 
Furthermore, when there is a strong wind accompanied 
by low temperature, the rooms cannot be equally 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 67 

warmed by this method in buildings of considerable 
size. 

Direct and indirect heating — The distinction made 
between direct and indirect heating is that in indirect 
heating the steam or hot water pipes are encased, 
and the heat radiated from them is conducted by 
flues to the various rooms. Indirect heating is often 
used as a part of the gravity system of ventilating, 
and in buildings in villages where ventilation by fan 
is too expensive, it affords, to some extent, a means 
of ventilating. The direct system of heating is that 
of placing radiators in the rooms. It is safe to say 
that no school building should be heated by direct 
radiation alone, unless an inlet that can be opened 
and closed passes through the walls of the building 
behind the radiator so as to admit air from the out- 
side. Such heating is termed direct-indirect. Radi- 
ators are made for heating in this manner and are 
constructed with a damper at the base so that the 
air entering the inlet through the side of the building 
passes over the heating surface on its way into the 
room. The amount of radiating surface required for 
direct-indirect heating is about one-fourth more than 
that for direct heating, whether the heat is imparted 
by steam or by hot water. 

The radiating surface, if steam is employed, should 
be so arranged and connected by valves that one- 
third of the radiating surface may be used in the 



68 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

mildest weather, two-thirds in colder weather, and the 
whole in the severest weather. With a hot water 
system of heating, the degree of radiation is con- 
trolled by so regulating the fire that the water circu- 
lating through the system is of a temperature just 
high enough to impart the amount of heat needed. 

An outlet flue for impure air, under conditions of 
direct or of direct-indirect heating, should be pro- 
vided, and in order to make this flue effective it must 
be heated in some manner. The heat in this flue 
will need to be of as high temperature as possible 
if any withdrawal of impure air from the school- 
room, that may be regarded as even passable venti- 
lation, is to be effected. In mild weather, it will 
be seen, therefore, that if the flue is heated with a 
hot water radiator, there will be but little withdrawal 
of the impure air from the schoolrooms. A stove 
in which a hot fire is kept burning has been effec- 
tively used in such flues. If a steam pipe is used, 
then the most efficient results will ensue, according 
to the inspectors of heating and ventilating of schools 
in Massachusetts, if the steam pipe is placed about 
a foot above the opening of the flue. The opening 
of the flue is to be in the lower part of the room, 
as explained o|i page 8^. 

Ventilation — Our present knowledge of the means 
of securing proper ventilation has been a matter of 
slow growth. It is the outcome of an incredible ex- 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 69 

penditure of thought and money, and its develop- 
ment is marked by a long list of failures as well as 
partial successes. As is true in every other sphere 
of advancement, the failures have in reality been 
helps in securing the advance. Since the broad ap- 
preciation of the fact that the ill health and mortal- 
ity of soldiers in barracks were markedly lessened by 
the employment of a crude means of ventilation, 
investigation has succeeded investigation with the 
end in view of determining what it is about vitiated 
air which produces the injurious results attendant 
upon continued breathing of it. One theory after 
another has been projected, to be at a later time 
abandoned. Investigations are still being conducted 
with the end just mentioned in view. 

Vitiation of air due to organic matter — It will per- 
haps prove more satisfactory in discussing the neces- 
sity for school ventilation, if we state at the start 
the theory that has been until recently generally 
accepted, since it was during the period of the 
acceptance of this theory that the greatest advances 
in the means of ventilation were made. 

According to this theory the dangerous effects of 
expired air are due to the presence of organic mat- 
ter which is thrown off by the lungs and skin. 
This organic matter was supposed to be poisonous 
in its effects, producing the sense of oppression and 
discomfort felt by those who breathe the air of 



70 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

rooms vitiated by the presence of many persons. 
The organic matter was believed to impart to such 
air an offensive odor, readily perceptible to one 
entering the vitiated air from out of doors. 

It was further held that the organic impurities 
could be detected in various ways. Only two of 
these need here be mentioned. First, when a large 
amount of the vitiated air is drawn through water, 
the water gives forth an offensive odor due to the 
presence of organic matter, which soon decomposes. 
Second, when such air is drawn through strong 
sulphuric acid, it renders the acid brown. 

Carbon dioxide an index of organic impurity — The 
amount of organic matter contained in expired air 
was never exactly determined, but the accompanying 
carbonic acid gas, COg, was taken as an index of the 
amount of organic impurities. Through chemical 
determinations of the percentage of CO^ in the im- 
pure air of crowded rooms, and the consideration of 
these percentages with reference to the degree of 
odor which could be detected when passing into a 
vitiated atmosphere from outside air, some definite 
data were gained. These afforded a practical work- 
ing basis, and very marked advances in ventilation 
resulted therefrom. 

The conclusion was reached that the odor of or- 
ganic matter thrown off by the continued breathing 
of the air in a room which was perfectly pure at the 



WARMING AND VENTILATING /I 

start might be detected by the sense of smell when 
the CO2 reached 7 parts in 10,000, and that the 
odor was very strong when the COg reached 10 
parts in 10,000. Seven parts of COg was fixed upon 
as the amount of COg permissible in air for healthy 
respiration. De Chaumont, in 1875, reported as 
the result of 473 analyses of air, that the odor 
of organic matter was on the average perceptible 
to the smell when the accompanying CO2 resulting 
from respiratory or personal impurity reached 1.943 
parts in 10,000; and that when it exceeded 9 parts 
in 10,000, or 9.05+ parts in 10,000, shades of dif- 
ference could no longer be detected by the sense 
of smell. 

Taking, then, 4 parts of COg in 10,000 as the amount 
of CO2 in pure outdoor air, it will be seen that accord- 
ing to the theory only 3 parts to 10,000 may be added 
from respiration before it becomes necessary to renew 
the air, or to provide some means of ventilation. Know- 
ing approximately the amount of CO2 thrown off by 
respiration each hour by a person, it was a problem 
of easy calculation to find the number of cubic feet of 
fresh air per hour necessary to each person in order 
to keep the amount of COg down to 7 parts in 10,000. 
The standard established by law in Massachusetts for 
the ventilation of the school buildings, namely 30 cu. ft. 
per minute per pupil, or 1800 cu. ft. per hour, a stand- 
ard which has been adopted by the business houses that 



72 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

furnish ventilating plants for school buildings, is based 
upon this calculation. 

Discredit of the theory of organic matter being dele- 
terious — Recent investigations made by Haldane and 
Smith, and in this country by Dr. Bergey directed by 
Dr. Billings and Dr. Mitchell, seem to discredit the 
theory that it is organic matter in the air which is 
deleterious to persons who inhale it in /* ordinary 
rooms." Should further investigations, which are cer- 
tainly necessary to establish the fact that such organic 
matter in the air is not deleterious, confirm the con- 
clusions of Dr. Bergey, it would in no way lessen the 
necessity of providing good ventilation in schools. 

Facts cited which render ventilation necessary — 
Whatever further investigations may determine as to 
the nature of this organic matter, it is an unquestioned 
fact that persons in an improperly ventilated room are 
uncomfortable, and further, that persons in a well- 
ventilated room can perform mental and physical work 
without that feeling of discomfort, that sense of phys- 
ical and mental fatigue, which are experienced by 
persons who work in vitiated air. It is a fact of 
common experience that when a number of persons 
breathe the air in a closed room, or a room in which 
there is very little renewal of the air, the air becomes 
oppressive and offensive. The term " crowd poison " 
has long been used by physiologists to characterize 
the quality of such air. 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 73 

There are, moreover, certain other positive facts in 
regard to expired air which warrant the demand for 
a constant renewal of the air of schoolrooms. Ex- 
pired air is saturated with moisture, and is breathed 
out at a temperature very nearly as high as that of the 
body. The air in a room where many persons sit 
rises, therefore, in temperature, and there is a rapid 
increase in the amount of moisture. This rise in tem- 
perature, resulting from the temperature of the expired 
air and the heat thrown off by the body, and the con- 
stant accumulation of water-vapor are two factors 
which produce discomfort and give the sense of op- 
pression which many persons feel in vitiated air. The 
rise in temperature together with the excessive increase 
of water-vapor interferes, as has been pointed out by 
Dr. Billings, with the evaporation of moisture from the 
surfaces of the body. The greater the amount of 
moisture in the air, the more this evaporation is 
obstructed. When the evaporation is considerably 
retarded a rise of internal temperature succeeds, which 
disturbs and deranges the normal chemical changes 
taking place in the tissues. It is well known that cases 
of sunstroke occur in greatest number when there is 
a high per cent of humidity in the air combined with 
a high degree of heat. Instances have occurred 
where death has resulted from the crowding and con- 
finement of steerage passengers below decks in a 
storm. The increase in heat, therefore, and in water- 



74 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

vapor, renders the renewal of the air in rooms occupied 
by many persons necessary. 

Pure outdoor air contains, per lOO volumes, 20.81 
parts of oxygen, 79. 1 5 of nitrogen (if we disregard 
argon .and the other lately discovered constituents), 
.04 of carbonic acid gas, and a varying amount of 
water-vapor, depending upon climatic conditions.^ 

Investigations have shown that air expired by an 
adult man, when deprived of the water-vapor acquired, 
and reduced to the same temperature as when in- 
spired, has 4.78 parts less of oxygen, and has gained 
4.34 parts of CO2, and .15 parts of nitrogen. In addi- 
tion to these changes, the expired air is saturated 
with water-vapor, its temperature has been increased 
to within one or two degrees of the temperature of 
the body, its volume has been diminished from 2 to 
2^ per cent, and it contains some organic matter the 
exact amount of which has not yet been determined. 

There are other considerations which render venti- 
lation necessary. The skin excretes water, inorganic 
salts, and fatty acid. Some of these are absorbed 
by the clothing and very likely undergo decompo- 
sition, the products of which are a factor in the 
vitiation of air. Common experience attests the fact 

1 Pettenkofer of Munich, in 1858, employing a new method, found 4.5 
parts of CO2 in 10,000 volumes of air. In analyses of air made by chem- 
ists since his time, some have reported 3 parts, some as low as 2.6 parts 
in 10,000. Nevertheless, in all computation as to ventilation, 4 parts in 
10,000 is taken for outdoor air. 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 75 

that odors arise from any place in which soiled gar- 
ments are confined for any length of time. The air, 
as Dr. Bergey has suggested, is further contaminated 
by the respiration of persons with decayed and unclean 
teeth, and of persons with disordered digestion. 

Moreover, in schoolrooms a great amount of dust 
rises from the floor. These particles of dust float 
through the air, and to these particles bacteria cling. 
While all these bacteria are by no means injurious, 
it is probable that in an air conducive to the pro- 
duction of bacteria there are a greater number of 
injurious ones, such as those which produce diph- 
theria or tuberculosis, for it has been proved that a 
far less number of germs are found in well-ventilated 
rooms than in rooms where little heed is given to 
ventilation. The large use of crayon in our school- 
rooms adds materially to the number of dust particles 
floating in the air. 

Schoolroom air may be further vitiated from the 
gases rising from the heating apparatus, and also by the 
products given off from burning gas-jets. According 
to Dr. Bilhngs, the burning of gas or oil, besides rais- 
ing the temperature of the air and increasing its amount 
of water-vapor, vitiates the air by the addition of such 
products as carbon monoxide, carbonic acid gas, nitric 
and nitrous acids, compounds of ammonia and sulphur, 
marsh-gas, and particles of carbon. 

Carbon monoxide, CO, is poisonous, combining with 



^6 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

the haemoglobin of the blood, and displacing the oxy- 
gen. Sulphuretted hydrogen is also poisonous, and is 
destructive to the haemoglobin. The burning gas also 
depletes the air of oxygen. A gas-jet burning 4 cu. ft. 
an hour consumes the oxygen from 21^-^^ cu. ft. of 
air. It will be seen, then, that, in addition to the oxy- 
gen of the air consumed, a large amount of fresh air 
must be added to dilute the impurities given off by a 
burning gas-jet. 

Ventilation out of doors — These facts show suffi- 
ciently, we think, why ventilation is necessary. Let us, 
for the purpose of contrast, see what ventilation is out 
of doors. Dr. Billings is authority for the statement 
that in one hour with the temperature at 60° F., and 
when there is no perceptible wind, about 32,400 cu. ft. 
of air per hour will flow over and come in contact 
with the body of a man, supposing his body to present 
an area of 9 sq. ft. and the displacement of air to be at 
the rate of i ft. per second. 

How often the air must be renewed — We have 
already mentioned the fact that the Massachusetts law 
requires 30 cu. ft. of pure air every minute per pupil, 
and that this amount has been generally adopted by the 
manufacturers of ventilating apparatus. There are some 
authorities that would require a greater number of cubic 
feet than this, but it is safe to state that in those schools 
where each pupil is furnished 30 cu. ft. of fresh air at 
the proper temperature, none of the effects are found 



WARMING AND VENTILATING yj 

which are traceable to improper ventilation. Given, 
then, a standard schoolroom, 25 x 30, with ceiling 13 ft. 
high, and containing 40 pupils, the air would need to be 
changed once in about 8 minutes in order to furnish 
each pupil with 30 cu. ft. of fresh air per minute. With 
48 pupils in the room, the air would need to be changed 
every 6.9 minutes. If we allow a change of air once 
every hour through the walls and about the windows, a 
change called natural ventilation, then the air would 
have to be renewed by the ventilating apparatus, for 40 
pupils every 9.6 minutes, and for 48 pupils every 7.8 
minutes. 

Means of ventilation — There are two means of 
ventilation : first, ventilation by the moving of air due 
to the difference in specific gravity between heated air 
and cold air, usually spoken off as the gravity sys- 
tem; second, ventilation by mechanical means in 
which the fan is used. The gravity system of venti- 
lation introduces hot air into the room through an 
inlet connected by flues with the furnace or with 
heated steam pipes encased so as to form an air 
chamber. The vitiated air flows out of the room 
through an outlet connected with a separate system 
of flues, the warm vitiated air rising because it is 
lighter than the outdoor air. More air can be moved 
by the gravity system of ventilation when the outside 
air is at an extremely low temperature, or, in other 
words, in very cold, still weather. Ventilation pro- 



78 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

duced by the gravity system is unsatisfactory as a 
rule in winter weather, when the outside temperature 
is not low, and in spring and fall weather. The 
action of this system of ventilation is also interfered 
with by the pressure of high winds. The cost of 
putting in this system of ventilation is much less than 
the cost of putting in mechanical ventilation ; but the 
cost in the consumption of coal to secure 30 cu. ft. 
of fresh air every minute for each pupil is largely in 
excess of the cost of securing this by the mechanical 
system. In most cases the gravity system fails to 
effect as frequent a change of air as is necessary to 
furnish each pupil with 30 cu. ft. of air per minute. 
Some gravity systems may attain this when condi- 
tions of weather are especially favorable ; but in the 
experience of the writer, in his measurements of the 
results of gravity systems, it has been found that this 
system is unable to maintain under varying conditions 
the standard of ventilation. 

The unsatisfactory results which have attended sys- 
tems of ventilation by gravity have led to mechanical 
ventilation, or the use of the fan. There are two 
means of ventilation by the use of the fan: one called 
plenum or pressure ventilation, in which the air is 
forced into the building because of the pressure 
exerted by the fan ; the other is known as the exhaust 
or vacuum plan, and is the reverse of the plenum, a 
fan being placed either at the top of the building or in 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 79 

the basement and run so as to draw air out of the flues 
which connect with the various rooms of the building. 
In some schools a combination of the plenum and 
vacuum systems is used. 

When the vacuum system is used alone it is 
generally found to be less satisfactory than forcing 
air into the rooms. The movement of vitiated air is 
not so easily controlled, because air is frequently 
drawn in through the openings around windows and 
doors, and an open window or door in one room dis- 
turbs the ventilation in other rooms, because the fan 
draws outside air through the open window or door 
more readily than it draws air from the rooms with 
doors and windows closed. The supply of air can- 
not be as well controlled with an exhaust fan as 
with a pressure fan. Cases have been known where 
the exhaust fan has drawn air through the plumbing 
of the building, and from accidental leaks from the 
sewerage of the building. With the pressure fan air 
is forced into the room, and the air in the room, being 
thus under greater atmospheric pressure than the 
outer air, is forced out through all cracks and open- 
ings, thus avoiding the dangers of the exhaust method, 
and insuring the required amount of pure air for each 
room. 

Kinds of fans — In the plenum system, two kinds of 
fans are usually employed ; first, the disk fan, which is 
simply an air propeller. This fan has the advantage 



8o SCHOOL HYGIENE 

of moving large quantities of air when the resistance 
to be overcome is small. The pressure which disk 
fans exert without noisy vibration is, as a maximum, 
equal to about -|- in. of water. The pressure of air is 
usually measured by its power to balance a column of 
water in a U-shaped tube, this pressure being expressed 
in inches of water. Wind pressure capable of sus- 
taining a column of water i in. in height is called an 
inch of water pressure. 

The second type of fan that may be used for plenum 
ventilation is the centrifugal or paddle-wheel fan. In 
these fans the air is forced centrifugally off the edge 
of the blade. They give air pressure between J in. 
of water and 2 in. of water. One advantage of the 
centrifugal fan is that it can be run at a speed 
that will maintain these pressures with very little 
reverberating noise from the fan. The economical 
limit for these centrifugal fans can be placed at about 
I in. of water pressure. The aim in ventilating with 
fans should be to deliver large quantities of air at 
as slow velocity as possible, in order to obviate the 
vibrations of the air when it is carried through the 
ducts and openings in the system, a condition of noise 
which is disturbing to the school. If the air is deliv- 
ered at a high pressure, with the prevalent plan of 
having one inlet in the room instead of effecting a 
distribution of the air by means of several inlets, the 
air enters at such a velocity as to produce a draft, 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 8 1 

the air passing across the room and being reflected 
downward to the opposite side on pupils sitting there. 

Much precaution must, therefore, be exercised that 
the ducts and shafts as well as the inlets shall be 
large, in order that air may be introduced at a com- 
paratively low temperature and velocity, as small ducts 
and shafts require that air be introduced at a very 
high temperature and velocity. Air ought not to come 
into a standard schoolroom at a greater velocity than 
6 ft. per second. 

Even, however, with inlets and outlets large, and 
the introduction of the air at as low a velocity as 6 ft. 
per second, the plan of having one large inlet and 
one large outlet for a room is not in all respects 
hygienically good. Under such an arrangement, all 
the foul air is drawn to one part of the room, and 
pupils sitting near the outlet where the vitiated air 
constantly converges are supplied with air much worse 
than they would breathe were there no means of ven- 
tilation but the old-time manipulation of windows. 
Here is a serious defect in our present systems of 
ventilation. The introduction of fresh air should be 
distributed at several points along the side of the 
room each at the height stated below. Its introduc- 
tion could, therefore, be at a very slow velocity. The 
vitiated air should be exhausted at several points along 
the side of the room, thus precluding its concentration 
at one point with its ill effects upon some pupils. 

G 



82 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



Place and size of inlets and outlets — An important 
matter in ventilation is the place of the inlets and out- 
lets, and their size. Mr. Warren R. Briggs of Bridge- 
port, Conn., published in the third annual report of 
the Connecticut State Board of Health, 1879, the con- 





^•^^OO^^i:^ 



Fig. 20. 



Fig. 21. 



elusions from a series of experiments made by him 
with a model about one-sixth of the size of a stand- 
ard schoolroom, in order to determine the most advan- 
tageous places for the location of the inlet for fresh 
air and the outlet for vitiated air. The system of 
ventilation used was the gravity system. He deter- 



cc^*^ 



^4-^fpf«^- 



'\X 






Fig. 22. 



Fig. 23. 



mined the movements of the air by the introduction 
of smoke with the stream of warm air, and was able 
in this way to detect the movements of the greater 
body of air which passed in and out of the model. 
The movements of the air in six experiments are 
shown in Figs. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, in which 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 



33 



the dotted line represents the position of the breath- 
ing line. The results of these experiments seemed so 
conclusive that the plan of placing the inlet eight or 
nine feet above the floor, and the outlet in the floor 
or within one foot of the floor, and both on the same 
side of the room, has been very widely adopted not 
only in buildings ventilated by the gravity system, but 
also in buildings in which the plenum system is used. 
The Massachusetts Inspectors of Public Buildings, 
in their observation and investigation into ventilation, 




/* 










^^^f^:;^7^5"' 



•^P-^^;- 



Fig. 24. 



Fig. 25. 



have reached some important conclusions in rela- 
tion to the size of inlets and outlets and the posi- 
tion of these inlets and outlets with reference to the 
outside and inside walls of schoolrooms. The inlet 
should be as large as possible in order that air may 
enter at as low velocity as possible. The velocity of 
warm air entering the schoolroom should never be 
greater than 400 ft. per minute, and the inlet for a 
standard schoolroom ought not to have less than 4 sq. 
ft. of net area ; while 4^- and 5 sq. ft., it is said, will 
give better results. The inlet should be covered with 
a screen made of \ in. wire with i\ in. mesh, so that 



84 SCHOOL HYGxiiNE 

the flow of the air will not be structed by the screen. 
With cast-iron registers the flow of the air, because of 
the design of the iron, is largely obstructed. The 
outlet of the standard schoolroom ought to have an 
area of not less than 4 sq. ft. The pressure of the 
air in the schoolroom should be a little in excess of 
the atmospheric pressure. It is the testimony of these 
inspe^ ors that the best results seem to be obtained by 
a juuicious combination of the plenum and exhaust 
methods. It will be seen that with a small fan for 
exhaust used in connection with a plenum fan, a closer 
adaptation can be made to the effects of high winds. 
The observations and experience of these inspectors 
show that in rooms with two sides exposed to the 
outer air, the inlet for the warm air and the outlet for 
the warm air should be as near the warm angles of 
the room as possible, and that in rooms with three 
sides exposed to the weather the inlet and outlet 
should be as near as practicable to the inner or 
warm side of the room, the inlet being at least 8 ft. 
above the floor and the outlet being, as has been 
stated, in the floor, or at least within i ft. of the 
floor. 

Purity of air supply — The air suppHed should not 
be drawn from the cellar of the building, nor from 
any locality where the air is likely to be contami- 
nated. The supply of air should be drawn from a point 
as high above the ground as possible. In Scotland 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 85 

some experiments have been made in washing and 
filtering the air. In some of the schools of Glasgow, 
a screen is placed just in front of the large plenum 
fans. This screen consists of a large wooden frame, 
across which hempen cords one-eighth of an inch in 
diameter, with an air space left between them of 
half an inch, are vertically stretched. When the fan 
is drawing air into the building, water is allov ^ to 
trickle from the top of the frame down over the 
hempen cords. The dirty appearance of the water 
as it flows away from the bottom of the screen is 
sufficient evidence of the dust and impurities taken 
out of the air in this manner. 

At Dundee, Scotland, the air for the Chemical 
Laboratory of the University College is filtered be- 
fore entering the building, by being passed through 
a jute cloth (light Hessian) which is stretched on 
frames 17 ft. by 4 ft. In using this screen it was 
found that the delivery of the air was increased 
nearly ten per cent, which was thought to be due to 
the fact that the jute screen prevented eddies. The 
cloth for these screens is furnished at slight cost, 
four cents per yard, and when used for this purpose, 
lasts about one year. 

Mr. Alfred R. Wolff, of New York City, has used 
screens covered with cheese-cloth for filtering air. 
These have proved very efficient. The cheese-cloth 
is stretched on light wooden frames. Extra frames 



S6 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

are provided to replace those that become so covered 
with dust as to obstruct the flow of air to the fan. 

Temperature of schoolroom air — The warm air de- 
livered to schoolrooms usually enters at too high a 
temperature, and thus there is in general a tendency 
to overheating of schoolrooms. The air delivered 
should not be much above ioo° F. A temperature 
of 68° F., and not to exceed 70° has generally been 
fixed upon as the proper temperature for school- 
room air. In measurements made by the writer, 
where buildings were heated by furnaces or by in- 
direct radiation, that is, by air coming into the room 
from steam pipes encased at the bottom of the flue 
leading into the room, he has found on cold days 
the temperature of the entering air to be from 130° 
to 180°. Air heated very high while passing over 
the furnace is vitiated, because the dome of the fur- 
nace becomes hot enough to char the particles of 
dust in the air. There is also unquestionably suffi- 
cient ground for holding that the air coming in con- 
tact with the heated iron is vitiated by the production 
of gases caused by the oxygen of the air combining 
with the carbon of the heated iron dome and other 
parts of the furnace. 

The temperature of schoolrooms usually too high — 
It may be said that schoolrooms, as a rule, are 
overheated. Dr. Lincoln is of the opinion that chil- 
dren can be made comfortable at 66° in a well-aired 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 87 

room. Professor Burn ham holds that a heated room 
should never be warmer than 66°. In England and 
Scotland the regulation is 65°. The writer has met 
many S(?otch masters who hold that 56° is warm 
enough. Clement Dukes gives 55° to 60° as the 
proper temperature of schoolrooms. Every school- 
room should be furnished with three or four ther- 
mometers, and these should be hung near the breath- 
ing line. In some German buildings the thermometer 
is placed in the wall, and the janitor, by passing 
through the hall and looking through a glass window 
at the thermometer, is able to note the temperature 
of the air in the room. 

If from any cause, as insufficient radiating surface, 
pressure of high winds, inadequacy of furnace to 
generate steam enough or to heat the water fast 
enough in a water system, the temperature of the 
room falls below 60*" F., pupils should be immediately 
dismissed from the room. 

Proper humidity — The proper temperature of a 
schoolroom cannot, however, be determined without 
taking into account the degree of moisture in the 
air. It is not sufficient that 30 cu. ft. of fresh air 
be furnished to each occupant of the schoolroom 
every minute. Good ventilation involves more than 
this. It involves the proper condition of the air 
delivered with respect to the amount of water-vapor 
it contains. 



88 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

When the air contains all the moisture it will hold, 
it is said to be saturated, and the degree of humidity 
is 100 per cent. If the air contains one-fourth of 
the moisture it will hold, the percentage of humidity 
is 25 per cent. But the absolute amount of water- 
vapor the air will hold varies with the temperature 
of the air. This point will be dealt with a little 
farther on. 

The writer has frequently, during the past few 
years, measured with the psychrometer the degree 
of humidity in the air of schoolrooms. In each 
instance a small amount of moisture in the air was 
registered. It was not uncommon to find the per- 
centage of humidity as low as 30 per cent, and sev- 
eral instances were noted where pupils and teacher 
were breathing air that had only 20 per cent of 
humidity. 

These low degrees of humidity of schoolroom air 
are confirmed by the measurements of others, and 
may safely be relied on as indicating the general 
condition of the air, in this particular, of schoolrooms 
during the season of the year when the air must be 
artificially heated. 

If the humidity of the heated air of schoolrooms 
or of the living rooms of private houses, for that 
matter, is compared with the humidity of the outside 
air, it will be found that the relative humidity of 
out-of-door air is, as a rule, much higher. The loss 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 89 

of humidity is, therefore, due to heat. Within ordi- 
nary ranges of temperature, an increase of 19° F. 
of heat, without the addition of more water-vapor, 
decreases by one-half the amount of water-vapor per 
given volume of air. In other words, if a given 
volume of air be taken at 30° of temperature and 90 
per cent of humidity, and heated to 49° F., it con- 
tains per given volume only 45 per cent of humidity. 
If it be heated 19° more, or to a temperature of 6S°, 
it contains per given volume only 22|- per cent of 
humidity. 

We may state this another way. With an increase 
of 19° at ordinary temperatures, the capacity of air to 
absorb moisture is doubled. 

As has been said, air will absorb moisture until it 
becomes saturated, or contains 100 per cent of mois- 
ture. This moisture it takes from any matter that will 
yield moisture. Its avidity for water-vapor is, it will be 
seen, the greater, the less the absolute amount of water- 
vapor the air contains. If air, therefore, when heated, is 
not supplied with a proper amount of moisture, it takes 
up moisture from every object that will yield it. The 
shrinking of the boards and beams of houses in winter, 
due to the absorption of moisture from them by the dry 
air, produces the cracks in floors, in corners, and around 
doors, generally to be seen after the rooms have been 
heated for a few weeks. Furniture, also, shrinks and 
gives way, due to the subtraction of the little moisture 



go SCHOOL HYGIENE 

that can be taken from the wood and from the glue 
which holds the joints. These effects are very evident 
to ordinary observation. But the effects of dry air 
upon the bodies of persons who are subjected to it are 
not so clearly observable. Nevertheless, they are just 
as positive. The artificially heated air, in which but 
a small percentage of moisture remains, absorbs mois- 
ture from the skin, the lining membrane of the nasal 
passages, the mouth, the throat, and the lungs. 

There is excellent medical authority in support of the 
fact that heated dry air makes the skin dry and rough ; 
it aggravates throat and catarrhal difficulties, and may 
even in some instances be the developing cause of such 
disorders. If the mucous membrane is constantly being 
deprived of its natural moisture, it is reasonable to hold 
that an unhealthful condition will at length result. 

In an examination, five years ago, of a very expen- 
sive heating and ventilating apparatus that had been 
placed in a grammar school during the preceding sum- 
mer vacation, the writer found the condition of the air 
at 10.15 in the morning as follows: temperature of 
room at breathing line 70° F., relative humidity, 25 
per cent. There were 700 pupils in the building. 
These pupils passed through an air of 80 per cent 
humidity in going to school, breathed an air of 25 per 
cent humidity from 9 o'clock till 11.35, when they 
were sent out into an atmosphere having 80 per cent 
humidity. They returned at i o'clock to breathe the 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 9 1 

same dry air till 3 o'clock, to be then dismissed again 
into a much more humid atmosphere. Such changes 
as these the pupils of many schools undergo repeatedly 
in the winter season. Such conditions are unquestion- 
ably a cause of colds and inflammation of the throat 
and bronchial passages. 

Dr. Henry J. Barnes of Boston, who has recently 
given this subject investigation and very careful study, 
says, "The frequent failure of the vocal organs of 
public speakers and singers may also be the result of 
breathing excessively dry air." 

The dry air of schools and dwellings has further an 
enervating effect. Dr. Barnes says that the relative 
humidity where the sirocco and the simoom prevail is 
never more than 10 per cent lower than is frequently 
observed in our own houses, and that the lassitude often 
felt in steam-heated apartments may partly be ascribed 
to such causes. 

A slight movement of heated air possessing but a 
small degree of moisture is frequently felt as a draft, 
because the dry air when taking moisture rapidly from 
the skin has a tendency to lower its temperature, and 
therefore produces a chilly sensation. It is a matter of 
personal experience that we sometimes sit by a register 
where very warm but dry air is issuing, and have a sen- 
sation of coldness. 

On the other hand, air that contains a high percentage 
of moisture seems to interfere with the normal heat pro- 



92 ■ SCHOOL HYGIENE 

cesses of the body. In summer, with the temperature 
at 75° or 80° and the humidity 90 per cent, we feel 
oppressed by the heat. 

There lies a mean between these extremes. Dr. Barnes 
has aptly said that we sit out of doors in June in medium 
weight clothing when the temperature is 65° and a nor- 
mal relative humidity of from 65 to 75 per cent. 

In the opinion of sanitarians who have given this mat- 
ter careful attention, a mean relative humidity of not less 
than 50 per cent is necessary for health. In reaching 
this opinion, they take into consideration the mean rela- 
tive humidity of temperate climates. In England the 
mean is about 75 per cent. For Philadelphia it is about 
69 per cent. Our schoolrooms, during the part of the 
year when artificial heat is necessary, are kept by regu- 
lation at a temperature of from 68° to 70° F., but with- 
out any care as to the amount of moisture the air 
contains. In view of the fact that a greater amount of 
heat is conveyed by moist air than by dry air of an equal 
temperature, it is safe to say that with 55 per cent of 
humidity the temperature of the schoolroom may be 
kept at 65° F. This temperature will be found, under 
the conditions stated, thoroughly comfortable as to 
warmth; its effect upon the health of pupils will be 
found to be strengthening rather than enervating, and 
a cause of colds and throat ailments will be removed. 

Since it is necessary for health to add a proper 
amount of moisture to the air to replace that appar- 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 93 

ently lost by heating, it becomes a question of how 
this may be feasibly done. 

Hot air furnaces are provided with a waterpot. 
When this is kept filled with water, the evaporation 
therefrom renders the air less arid than without it, 
but because of the position usually given to the 
waterpot in the lower part of the furnace, it will 
evaporate only a small amount of the water neces- 
sary to be converted into vapor to maintain a mean 
relative humidity of at least 50 per cent. 

Let us, for example, take outside air at a tempera- 
ture of 25° F. and mean relative humidity of 65 per 
cent. This will represent favorable winter conditions. 
If the furnace supply 70 cu. ft. of air at 110° F. 
per minute, which may be taken as the capacity of 
an ordinary house furnace, it would require^ 28.9 
gallons of water in 15 hours, from 7 in the morn- 
ing to 10 o'clock at night, the time during which 
the furnace is under the strongest fire, to render the 
humidity of the air 55 per cent with a temperature 
of 65°. The place usually given to the waterpot 
and the size do not permit of such evaporation. 

^A cubic foot of air at 25° F. and 100 per cent of humidity contains 
1.611 grains; at 65 per cent, 65 X 1.611 = 1.04715 grains. A cubic foot 
of air at 65° contains at 100 per cent of humidity 6.782 grains ; at 55 per 
cent, 3.7301 grains. It would need, then, 3.7301 — 1.04715 grains = 
2.6829 grains per cubic foot; 700 cu, ft. would need 1878.065 grains per 
minute; 15 hours (60 X 15 = 900), 900 X 1878.065 = 1690258.5 grains or 
28.9 gallons. 



94 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

But let us take a school furnace supplying fresh 
heated air for four rooms, each containing 48 pupils, 
and let us suppose the furnace to supply 20 cu. ft. 
less per minute for each pupil than the standard. 
There would have to be supplied, then, 192 x 10 cu. ft., 
or 1920 cu. ft. of air per minute. Assuming the 
conditions to be the same as in the previous illustra- 
tion, very nearly 37 gallons of water would have to 
be evaporated into the air from 8 o'clock in the 
morning to 3 o'clock in the afternoon. 

To secure the requisite amount of evaporation, 
then, the waterpot must be made larger and be 
placed in the upper part of the furnace. Some 
convenient or automatic device for filling is nec- 
essary. 

Means employed to humidify the air of schoolrooms — 
In one of the recently erected schools at Yonkers, 
N. Y., Supt. Charles E. Gorton has devised for each 
of the large furnaces a copper pan in the form of 
an inverted frustum of a hollow square pyramid. 
The inverted base is very small and the sides flange 
out rapidly. The pan is filled by a pipe from the 
water supply, and a glass tube outside the furnace 
indicates the depth of the water in the pan. By 
increasing the depth, the evaporating surface of the 
water is rapidly increased and the supply of mois- 
ture regulated in this way. The pans are placed on 
the dome of the furnace and at the bottom of the 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 95 

hot air flue passing from the fan over the furnace 
to the distributing ducts. 

Porous earthenware vessels have sometimes been 
placed in the flues. They have, however, the disad- 
vantage of obstructing the flow of fresh air. 

Wet sponges hung so that the hot air in entering 
the room may pass through them are sometimes em- 
ployed to increase the humidity. But these must 
either be often filled or kept wet by an automatic 
drip. In either case, this method of supplying mois- 
ture to air requires so much care and attention as to 
preclude its use. 

In buildings heated by direct steam radiation, porous 
clay vessels may be placed upon the radiators, and 
these will be found to lessen considerably the exces- 
sive dryness of the air. These porous clay vessels may 
be procured of flower-pot makers, and are inexpensive. 
They can be made from a simple model or even from 
description, and should be long enough and wide 
enough to cover the entire top of the radiator. A 
depth of four inches is sufficient. 

Some are of the opinion that if steam is let to 
escape noiselessly from the radiator, it will impart a 
sufficient amount of moisture. This is a mistake. 
Steam escaping in this way does not diffuse itself. 
The floor and woodwork about the escaping steam 
become covered with moisture. Indeed, a small area 
receives an excessive amount of moisture, but the 



96 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

moisture is deposited instead of becoming generally 
diffused. 

In buildings where the heating is effected by indirect 
radiation, or where it is partly indirect and partly 
direct, a very excellent method of humidifying the 
air has been devised by Mr. C. H. J. Woodbury of 
Boston. This method has since been tried in several 
schools, and with entire success. A small tube, con- 
nected with one of the steam pipes, is so arranged as 
to liberate steam into the cold air duct a few feet from 
the opening and at a considerable distance from the 
heating stack. The small tube is furnished with a 
valve, and the tube beyond the valve gradually expands 
in funnel form, in order to allow the steam to escape 
at a low velocity. The amount of steam escaping 
must be regulated to meet the conditions of external 
air. A deposit of moisture on the window pane of a 
room with coldest exposure has been found to be a 
practical way of determining when too much steam is 
escaping. A more exact way is by the use of the dry 
and wet bulb thermometer. This simple piece of appa- 
ratus is easily constructed. Two thermometers may 
be taken, care being exercised that they are graduated 
alike and record the same temperature under the same 
conditions. These may be tacked to a small flat piece 
of wood. Around the bulb of one thermometer tie a 
piece of linen cloth and let this project down from the 
bulb an inch. Fasten a small vial filled with water to 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 97 

the piece of wood so that the linen cloth will dip well 
into it. Of course the bottle must henceforward be 
filled with water. The evaporation of the water from 
the linen about the bulb of the thermometer lowers its 
temperature according to well-known physical laws. 
The higher the temperature of the air, and the less 
moisture it contains, the faster is the evaporation from 
the wet bulb and the lower the temperature recorded. 
In order to maintain a relative humidity of 55 per cent, 
with room temperature from 65 to 68°, the reading of 
the wet bulb should be about ten degrees lower than 
the dry bulb. The escape of steam must, of course, 
be regulated so as to secure the proper degree of 
humidity. 

The employment of the dry and wet bulb in this 
Njnanner does not, however, give accurate results. If 
t&e thermometer with linen cloth about the bulb be 
fastened to a piece of wood, and the piece of wood so 
adapted mechanically that it may be rotated rapidly 
through the air, sufficiently accurate results may be 
obtained. Of course, the linen cloth must be thor- 
oughly saturated with water before the rotation 
begins. The following table taken from Tables by 
Mr. Moore, Chief of the United States Weather 
Bureau, will show by inspection the degree of hu- 
midity of the air: — 



98 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



Temperature of 
Dry Bulb 


Degrees of Difference in 
Reading of Wet Bulb 


Relative Humidity 


65 


8.5 


59 




9- 


56 




9-5 


54 




10. 


52 




10.5 


50 


66 


8.5 


59 




9- 


57 




9-5 


55 




10. 


53 




10.5 


51 


67 


8.5 


60 




9- 


58 




9-5 


55 




10. 


53 




10.5 


51 


68 


8.5 


60 




9- 


58 




9-5 


56 




10. 


54 




10.5 


52 



In conclusion, it is to be said that care should be 
exercised in humidifying the air not to allow it 
to become too damp with moisture, as this condition 
is to be as much avoided, on grounds of health, as 
excessive dryness of the atmosphere. 

How to measure ventilation — Many writers on school 
hygiene give descriptions of methods for ascertaining 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 99 

by chemical means the amount of carbonic acid 
gas in the air of a schoolroom. The test with lime- 
water is misleading and inaccurate, and some of the 
other tests involve a nicety of manipulation which 
can be expected only of a trained chemist. There is 
little need, at the present time, of determining the 
amount of carbonic acid gas in schoolroom air, for 
when the capacity of the room is known, the number of 
pupils in it, and the amount of air coming in, the con- 
dition of the air in this particular may be calculated 
with sufficient exactness. What should be done is to 
measure by the use of an anemometer the number 
of cubic feet of fresh air entering the room and the 
amount of air leaving the room, and then determine the 
efficiency or the inefficiency of the ventilating appa- 
ratus by comparing the amount of air entering per 
pupil with the standard, 30 cu. ft. per minute. 

To measure the air entering the room an anemome- 
ter must be used. Every school principal and every 
superintendent whose buildings are ventilated either 
by the gravity or mechanical system, should own an 
anemometer, and should take measurements at various 
intervals and determine the efficiency of the ventila- 
tion for the different rooms of the school buildings 
under his care. Facing p. loi. Fig. 26, a cut is shown 
of the best form of anemometer for this purpose. 
This instrument may be imported for schools, without 
duty, at a cost of $15.00. The revolution of the deli- 

LofC. 



lOO SCHOOL HYGIENE 

cate blades is recorded on the dial of the instrument. 
The instrument is so constructed that the recording 
mechanism may be stopped and started as the operator 
desires. The anemometer shows the velocity at which 
the air is moving through an opening. The velocity 
at which the air enters the room per minute, as indi- 
cated by the instrument, multiplied by the area in 
square feet of the opening, will give the number of 
cubic feet of air passing through each minute. In 
measuring the amount of air passing through a given 
opening, readings should be taken in the middle of 
the opening, near the bottom of the opening, and then 
at the top of the opening, and the average of these 
readings computed. It will usually be found that the 
air passes through the opening of the duct at unequal 
velocities, when the rate at the top and at the bottom 
are compared. 

Ventilation of city and town school buildings — The 
most economical, and at the same time most efficient 
and reliable system of heating and ventilating, is that 
by which the requisite amount of pure air enters each 
room at approximately the desired temperature of the 
room, and by which, when weather conditions require 
it, the temperature of the room is maintained by coils 
or radiators placed along the exposed walls of the 
room under windows, these coils or radiators to be 
protected by a screen in order that the pupils sitting 
near them shall not be made uncomfortable by the 




Fig. 5. 




/ I 



Fig. 26. 



WARMING AND VENTILATING 101 

radiation. Separate and distinct systems for heating 
and ventilating are involved in this plan. The sepa- 
ration of these two systems permits the stoppage of 
the fan supplying the warm, fresh air, when school 
hours are over, and the heating of the building dur- 
ing the night and on days of no school, when severe 
conditions of weather make this necessary in order 
that the walls shall not become chilled, and that the 
class-rooms shall be at the proper temperature on the 
opening of the school in the morning. The radia- 
tors or coils should be controlled automatically by 
thermostats. Many cities and towns where electric 
power is available find it more economical to employ 
a low pressure system of heating, and to propel the 
ventilating fans by an electric motor. 

Attention should be called to the disadvantages of 
a system often employed, in which the cold air taken 
from out of doors is drawn over the heating coils and 
then forced by the fan into the distributing ducts 
which branch off and lead to the various rooms. 

The vertical hot air ducts which lead to the various 
rooms are connected separately at their base with a 
cold air flue, and dampers are so arranged that when 
the temperature of the room reaches 68^^ or 70°, the 
automatic thermostat closes the hot air damper and at 
the same time opens the cold air damper. Cold air is 
thus admitted to the room until the temperature of 
the room falls, when the thermostat closes the cold air 



102 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

and opens the hot air damper. Under this system 
there is likely to be a failure in the proper distribu- 
tion of heat when high winds prevail, and also dur- 
ing severely cold weather. 

Under such conditions of weather it is necessary to 
run the fans a greater part of the time between the 
close of school at night and its opening in the morn- 
ing, to prevent the walls from becoming so chilled 
that the building cannot be properly warmed during 
school hours. It will be seen that such a system in- 
volves not only a large consumption of coal, but also 
the cost of attendance at night. It will be evident 
that the warm air, as it leaves the heating coils, must 
be raised to a temperature considerably in excess of 
the temperature at which it enters the room, in order 
to provide for loss of heat in its transit through the 
ducts and also for leakage of cold air through the 
dampers. The air, furthermore, must enter the room 
at a considerably higher temperature than that at 
which the room is to be kept, as otherwise the room 
will cool below the proper temperature. 

With such a system cold drafts and marked differ- 
ences in the temperature of the air in some rooms 
frequently occur in cold weather. This condition may 
be caused in the following manner. Suppose the 
air as it passes the inlet to be ioo° F. When the 
temperature of the room rises to 70°, at which 
the thermostat is set, the action of the thermostat 



WARMING AND VENTILATING IO3 

Opens the cold air damper. The air which thereafter 
enters the room falls from 50° to 60° in temperature, 
depending upon outdoor conditions. The air at this 
temperature being heavier than the air in the room, 
falls after passing through the inlet, and is felt as a 
draft by the occupants of the room sitting on the 
opposite side from the inlet. As soon as the tem- 
perature of the room falls, the thermostat closes the 
cold air damper, and the inflow of heated air warms 
the room up to the temperature at which the ther- 
mostat opens the cold air damper again. In this way 
the temperature of the room successively falls and rises. 

These serious disadvantages, as well as the increased 
cost of warming, may be avoided by the adoption of 
the plan already set forth of having radiators placed 
along the outer walls under the windows, using these to 
maintain the temperature of the room, and securing the 
ventilation by forcing into the room air at the tempera- 
ture at which it is desired to keep the air of the room. 

Cool air for city schools in summer — It is worth 
mentioning at this point, in view of the fact that 
many city schools hold vacation sessions, that if the 
fresh air flue leading from the fan to the distributing 
ducts can be carried underneath the cellar, the air 
driven through this flue in the summer time will be 
cooled several degrees. Of course, the flue should 
be so constructed as to be impervious to moisture 
from the ground as well as to ground air. 



104 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

In the high school at Asbury Park, N. J., the plan of 
construction, due to some exigency, required that the 
main air flue leading from the fan at the front entrance 
of the building should be carried under the cellar some 
distance, whence it rose to be connected with the dis- 
tributing flues. In a period of intense heat at the 
opening of school in September, it was found that by 
keeping the windows of the building closed and running 
the fan, which was propelled by electricity, teachers 
and pupils were thoroughly comfortable throughout the 
entire building. Measurement of the ventilation of this 
school proved it to be rather in excess of thirty cubic 
feet per minute for each pupil. 

Ventilation of village schools — Although standard 
ventilation, 30 cu. ft. per minute for each pupil, cannot 
be secured under varying conditions of weather and 
wind without a fan and a motor or engine to drive 
the fan, the cost of such an equipment, together with 
the additional expense incurred for an attendant to run 
it, is such that village schools, as a rule, cannot afford 
this means of ventilation. While, then, standard venti- 
lation is not possible, it becomes a question of the best 
ventilation that may be secured under the Hmitation of 
the appropriations voted. The removal of the impure 
air must -therefore be effected by means of the draft 
produced in the outlet duct by warming in some way 
the air in the duct. 

The most satisfactory plan, under ordinary condi- 



WARMING AND VENTILATING I05 

tions, is to heat the air in the outlet ducts by steam 
pipes rising nearly the entire length of the duct and 
returning. Or the ducts may spring separately 
from a chamber of sufficient size encasing a large 
steam coil. 

Such a plan of ventilating carries with it the supposi- 
tion that the schoolrooms are heated by steam. For 
such heating and ventilating a combination of the direct 
and indirect systems will yield most satisfactory results. 
The indirect may be used to furnish a supply of fresh 
warmed air to the room, and the direct employed in 
severe weather to maintain the required temperature 
of the room. 

Hot water systems of heating are often installed in 
village schools. While it is true that, under the con- 
ditions which obtain in these schools, hot water heat- 
ing is more economical than steam heating, as the 
temperature of the radiating surfaces can be more 
evenly controlled than those of steam, yet in the 
case of village schools the means of heating ought 
not to be considered apart from the matter of ven- 
tilating. In mild and moderate weather, therefore, 
the lower temperature of hot water in the outlet 
ducts would not produce sufficient draft, and the out- 
flow of vitiated air would be noticeably less than if 
steam were used. 

If, however, a hot water system of heating must be 
installed more satisfactory ventilation can be secured 



I06 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

by heating the air in the ventilating flue by a stove, as 
stated on p. 6S, than by hot water radiators. 

In regard to the ducts, it may be said that these should 
rise from the room vertically, and that there should be a 
separate duct for each room. The ducts should be as 
smooth as possible on the inside to reduce the friction 
of the air to a minimum. The friction in brick flues 
greatly retards the flow of air. The ducts should 
therefore be made of tin or sheet iron. 

Ventilation of rural schools — In order to ventilate 
the rural schoolhouse, the stove should be placed 
in one corner of the room and near the chimney. 
The stove should be enclosed by a sheet-iron jacket, 
leaving a distance of from i8 in. to 2 ft. between the 
stove and the inside of the jacket. The jacket 
should be about 6 ft. high, and should extend to the 
floor. The opening in the jacket for the purpose of 
supplying the stove with fuel should be as narrow 
as feasible. A cold air duct should be constructed 
to lead from the outside of the building underneath 
the floor, and to open beneath the stove, so that pure, 
fresh air will flow in, be warmed by the stove, and 
rise to the ceiling. 

The point to be secured in the heating and venti- 
lating of the rural schoolhouse is the quick and uni- 
form distribution of the heat to all parts of the 
room. In the opposite side of the room from the 
stove, a tin or galvanized iron ventilating duct should 



WARMING AND VENTILATING IO7 

be constructed, oblong in shape, having its cross-sec- 
tion dimensions 12x6 in. The open end of this 
duct should be within i ft. of the floor. The flue 
should extend to the ceiling and run along the ceil- 
ing to the chimney. There should not be any sharp 
angle in this duct, but a curved bend where the up- 
right section unites with that which runs along the 
ceiling. The ventilating duct should discharge into 
a large chimney flue at least 14 by 20 in. of cross- 
section area. In the middle of this flue there should 
run a sheet-iron pipe of sufficient capacity to deliver 
the smoke and gases from the stove. The heat radi- 
ated from this pipe when there is a brisk fire in the 
stove will cause a strong draft in the flue and draw 
the air out of the schoolroom through the ventilat- 
ing duct. 

The plan already described is the simplest and most 
economical for effecting some degree of ventilation in 
rural schoolhouses. A better plan would be to place 
the stove in one corner of the room surrounded by 
a sheet-iron jacket, and to construct a flue opening 
underneath the stove and connecting with the outer 
air, as has already been recommended. Three open- 
ings might then be made in the floor, one in the 
corner opposite that in which the stove is placed, 
and the other two on the sides of the room equally 
distant from the stove. These outlets through the 
floor, which are to be fitted with registers, should 



I08 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

have tin ducts running from them and uniting into 
one duct just before opening into the ventilating flue, 
which is to be constructed as already described. This 
would secure a more even withdrawal of the vitiated 
air from the schoolroom, and at the same time a more 
equal distribution of heat than by the employment 
of a single duct. 

Ventilation by the use of windows — Something 
should be said in relation to what may be done in 
school buildings in which there is no provision for 
adequate ventilation. In this case windows must 
be used. The well-known device of placing a board 
between the sashes may be employed, but the pressure 
and direction of the wind are so variable and the 
changes in temperature so fluctuating, that the admis- 
sion of fresh air in this way requires great attention 
on the part of the teacher, and the closest study of the 
varying factors already referred to. Children ought 
not to be required to sit in a draft or where cold air 
is pouring down upon the head and shoulders. Only 
a small amount of air in cold weather can be admitted 
through any device of window ventilation without ex- 
posure of some of the children in the room. As 
much relief as possible, however, from the vitiation 
of the air should be secured by a very judicious 
arrangement of window sashes. Relief may be found 
by opening windows and giving the pupils exercise 
while the windows are open, or by allowing them to 



WARMING AND VENTILATING IO9 

file out into the hall when the room is being venti- 
lated. In ventilating the room by throwing open the 
windows, care must be taken not to cool the air below 
the dew point. At the end of every hour time should 
be taken for opening the windows and flushing, with 
proper precautions, the room with fresh air. The 
time consumed in this way will be found to yield 
gains in other ways, for pupils in a vitiated air are 
unable to put forth as much mental effort as they 
would under conditions of good ventilation. Lassi- 
tude is frequently the result of breathing vitiated 
air. 



CHAPTER V 

Sanitation 

Warming and ventilation, under strict classification, 
are matters of sanitation, and their treatment might 
be expected in a chapter on sanitation. For the pur- 
pose, however, of presenting these in a different rela- 
tion, they have been treated in a preceding chapter, 
while the other matters of sanitation have been re- 
served for this. 

Latrines or closets — Some writers upon school archi- 
tecture insist that these shall not be placed in the 
basement, but outside the building, and connected 
with the building by a narrow covered passageway. 
This recommendation need not be regarded in cities 
and towns having a good system of water supply 
and proper sewerage. Under the latter conditions the 
closets or latrines may be placed in the basement, pro- 
viding they are constructed in a thoroughly approved 
way. In the first place, they should be well venti- 
lated, and the system of ventilation of the latrines 
should have no connection with the system of venti- 
lation of the school, to avoid all possibiHty of back 
draughts, and the mixing, under certain conditions, of 

110 



SANITATION III 

air from the latrines with the air of some of the school- 
rooms. The latrines, therefore, should have a sepa- 
rate system of ventilation. The range system of 
latrines, adjusted to flush at intervals, will be found 
most satisfactory. If closets are adopted, they should 
be fitted up with the most durable apparatus and, at 
the same time, the most simple in action, so that they 
will stand the wear and unintelHgent use of pupils 
without constantly getting out of order. They should 
act powerfully and automatically. 

The floor of the latrines or closets should be 
asphalted, so that it can be thoroughly cleaned by 
washing, and it should be scrubbed at least once a 
week. Regular inspection by the principal of the 
school is vital in these matters. 

The closets should be well lighted. A mistake often 
made is in putting them in dark places. A dim and 
insufficient light in closets is to a large extent the 
cause of the offensive conditions into which they so 
often fall. No deodorizers should be used in the 
closets, as they are merely palliative, and are frequently 
trusted to the neglect of cleanliness. What is further, 
when deodorizers are used, one is unable by the sense 
of smell to detect conditions which would otherwise 
be discovered and remedied. Well-constructed closets 
or latrines with the best plumbing and apparatus, 
thoroughly cleaned once a week, are the only satis- 
factory and permissible conditions in buildings where 



112 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

a water supply may be obtained. One closet should 
be allowed for every twenty-five boys and one for 
every fifteen girls. Near every closet or system of 
closets there should be a sufficient number of wash 
bowls, with a proper supply of soap and towels, to 
provide pupils an opportunity to wash their hands 
after visiting the closets. The school should in some 
way beget in pupils the habit of doing this. 

Urinals — The construction and care of urinals in 
schools are often unsanitary and offensive in the high- 
est degree, and noticeably inferior to the other equip- 
ment of the school. Absorbent and corrosive materials 
are utterly unfit to be used in their construction. 
Wood, cement, and certain metals are therefore de- 
barred. The most suitable and, in the end, the most 
economical materials are slate and hard asphalt. The 
slate should form the upright surfaces. A gutter of 
some impervious material at the base of the slate 
uprights is best, this to be connected with the sewer by 
soil-pipe adequately trapped. 

The floor should slope slightly down to the gutter. 
Asphalt will be found most satisfactory for the floor. 
The surfaces exposed may be oiled, or running water 
may be used. Constant attention must be paid to the 
urinals to keep them in proper sanitary condition. 
One urinal should be allowed for every fifteen boys. 

In buildings which do not have a water supply, the 
construction and care of closets becomes a much more 



SANITATION II 3 

difficult and troublesome matter. Under such condi- 
tions, they should unquestionably stand apart from the 
building, and be connected with it by covered passage- 
ways. 

Dry closets — For schools in towns and villages hav- 
ing no available water supply from mains, a dry 
system of latrines is much in use. There are several 
forms of these in the market, which differ more or less 
in some particulars, but which are alike in the general 
principle involved, namely, the passing of warm air 
through the vaults and thence up a ventilating flue, 
thus drying the excreta and carrying off all odors. 
The excreta after it is thoroughly dry is either burned 
by saturating it with kerosene, or disposed of in some 
other way. Whatever patented form of dry closet is 
used, there is one thing that must not be tolerated, 
namely, any connection between the ventilating system 
of the schoolrooms and that of the dry closets. The 
warm air which is passed through the vaults mxust in 
no case be the vitiated air drawn from the school- 
rooms. An entirely separate supply must be pro- 
vided for the closets to insure perfect safety against 
back drafts at any time. 

Outhouses for country schools — There are a great 
number of schools where no other provision of closets 
than the ordinary outhouses is possible. Most coun- 
try schools are unable to make any other provision 
than this. Unless constant vigilance is exercised on 



114 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

the part of the teacher or on the part of the 
school authorities, outhouses become not only places 
of physical filth, uncleanliness, and offensive odors, 
but also sources of moral contamination. During 
recent years the Departments of Public Instruction in 
many states have given careful attention to the best 
means permissible under the conditions as to the con- 
struction and the taking care of outhouses. There is 
nothing better to be offered than the recommendations 
made by some of the State Departments of Public 
Instruction. These recommendations we here insert. 
There should be separate outhouses for each sex, 
each house situated from 40 to 50 ft. from the school 
building, properly hidden and protected by lattice work 
and evergreens. A board fence 6 ft. high extending 
from the rear of the school building should separate 
the outhouses. The entrances to the houses should 
be facing the board fence. It is a mistake to place 
the outhouses in the extreme corners of the school lot 
or at a considerable distance from the schoolhouse, 
because the exposure in cold and inclement weather 
deters visitation, and as a consequence weakness and 
disease are engendered. These buildings should be 
thoroughly constructed, well lighted by windows, the 
sills of which are 7 ft. above the floor. The impor- 
tant feature of the outhouse is the vault. This should 
be built strongly of brick or stone, and plastered with 
cement on the inside to the top and over the top of 



SANITATION 1 1 5 

the masonry. All corners and dihedral angles of the 
vault should be rounded by filling in with brick or 
stone of the proper form, so that the interior of the 
vault when plastered with cement will be concave 
where sides and bottom meet. After the cement 
is dry it should be covered thoroughly with one or 
two coats of coal tar to protect it against the action 
of the weather, to render it non-absorbent, and to 
insure against any contamination of the water supply 
by percolation of drainage from the vault into the 
well. 

The vault should be so constructed that its inte- 
rior is easily got at. A tight wooden box or bin 
should be built near each outhouse to hold the dry 
earth which is to be used to keep the vault in 
proper condition. This earth should be thoroughly 
dry, and should be screened so as to remove all 
pebbles. Field loam is best for this purpose. Ashes 
may be used, but sand is not suitable. The loam, 
however, must be pulverized and must be perfectly 
dry to be efficacious. Every school day a sufficient 
amount of the dry, pulverized loam should be sprinkled 
over the contents of the vault to absorb completely 
all liquids. This is indispensable to rendering the 
contents of the vault inoffensive. The vaults should 
be thoroughly cleaned at least three times a year, and 
the interior well sprinkled with powdered lime. 

Plumbing — It is unnecessary in this book to go 



Il6 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

into the matter of plumbing. Sanitary plumbing is 
now well understood, and there are several special 
treatises which enter into very great details in rela- 
tion to the subject. Unlike warming and ventilation, 
the plumbing of a school building does not differ 
essentially from that of any large building for public 
or residential purposes. No further word, therefore, 
need be said here than that the plumbing of a school 
building should be carefully planned according to the 
latest approved systems, and then intrusted to a 
thoroughly competent mechanic. Chandler says very 
strongly that plumbing should not be accepted with- 
out test, and that the only test whrch is satisfactory 
and convincing is that made by tightly closing the 
outlets on the roof and then applying pneumatic 
pressure to the entire system. He does not regard 
the peppermint or smoke test without pressure as 
sufficient. 

Every year there should be a test of the plumbing 
to see whether there is any escape of sewer gas. 

Water supply — In any community, the change from 
a supply of drinking water of inferior quality to a 
proper supply of pure drinking water is attended by 
a marked decrease of certain kinds of sickness and 
of certain diseases. In the school special care must 
be exercised in regard to the purity of drinking 
water. If the water supply is of questionable quality, 
then whatever can be done by filtration to render it 



SANITATION II7 

pure should be done. Other precautions must also 
be taken. 

Drinking cups may become a means of communi- 
cating disease. Not only may diphtheria be commu- 
nicated in this way, but the germs from decaying 
teeth may be carried by the rim of the drinking 
cup to the mouth of another pupil, and in this way 
sore mouth or tonsillitis may ensue. In schools hav- 
ing a water supply, the drinking cups should be so 
left after each usage that they are continually sub- 
jected to running water. Drinking fountains are 
recommended by some writers. These are constructed 
on the principle that a small and steady stream of 
water two or three inches in height issues from the 
orifice of an upright nozzle. The pupil drinks by 
placing his mouth at the top of the fountain-like 
stream. There is, therefore, by this means, no con- 
tamination spread from drinking cups. While, how- 
ever, the drinking fountain obviates one danger, it 
invites another. At home the habit of looking at the 
water one is about to drink is inculcated in the child 
with the utmost care and solicitude. The immunity 
which such a habit insures is based upon thoroughly 
reasonable grounds, which a moment's reflection will 
disclose. On these grounds, therefore, drinking foun- 
tains of this kind are not to be recommended. 

In schools which do not have a water supply, but 
where the water must be brought from a pump or 



Il8 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

well, the water should under no conditions be kept 
in a pail. A large reservoir either in the form of 
a tank or a keg should be provided, and the water 
placed in this and then drawn from a faucet. The 
use of individual cups should be encouraged on the 
ground of safety to health. 

The source of water supply in country schools 
must be thoroughly looked to. If it comes from 
springs, care must be taken that there is no pollut- 
ing drainage that reaches the spring or stream. All 
wells should be thoroughly cleaned and drawn off 
or pumped out just before the opening of school 
after the summer vacation. 

Daily cleaning of the school building — Any discus- 
sion of the daily cleaning of the schoolhouse would 
consider whether sufficient help is furnished by the 
school authorities to effect each day what is required 
to satisfy the demands of hygiene in regard to clean- 
liness. It is too often overlooked that for a great 
part of the year the janitor must sweep and dust the 
school building either by artificial light, or by the 
doubtful light at the close of the short days of 
the fall and winter. A great fault lies at the door 
of teachers in that they remain late in their rooms 
and are either oblivious to the fact, or entirely ignore 
it, that they are trespassing on the rights of the jani- 
tor in remaining so late in their class-rooms, and 
supposing that the janitor can busy himself about 



SANITATION 1 19 

Other things. In the interests of thorough cleanli- 
ness some rule should be established by which the 
room should be ready for the janitor at a given time 
after the dismissal of school in the afternoon. 

The schoolrooms, cloak-rooms, and corridors should 
be thoroughly swept at the close of every school day. 
Before sweeping, the windows should be thrown up, 
and the room well aired. The windows should be 
kept up, if possible, while the sweeping is going for- 
ward. Dust is inimical to health in many ways. We 
have pointed out that it is necessary to construct the 
building so as to avoid the collection of dust. It is 
highly necessary that the dust rising from the wear of 
the floor, the dust brought in from out of doors, bits 
of wool and cotton from clothing, worn-off cuticle, 
crayon dust, etc., should be as completely removed 
each day as it is possible to be. School buildings 
as a rule are not kept thoroughly clean. In the 
first place, not a sufficient amount is expended to 
keep them clean. Proper regard for health demands 
that if it can be effected in no other way, a cur- 
tailment of expenses be made in some other direction, 
in order that the building may be kept scrupulously 
clean. A scrupulously clean building reacts in its 
effect on the community, and engenders in the end 
a higher appreciation of the value and wholesomeness 
of cleanliness. 

The floors should not be swept dry, but should be 



120 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

sprinkled with wet sawdust and swept with a wet 
broom ; crayon troughs should be brushed off and out, 
unless they are provided with the screened trough 
spoken of in Chap. I ; the erasers should be thoroughly 
beaten. This may be accomplished by having an extra 
supply which can be taken from the room for a day 
at a time. After the room has been swept, and before 
the windows are closed, the desks and ledges should 
be thoroughly dusted. It will be found that after the 
windows are closed dust will settle during the night ; 
in the morning, therefore, before school the desks 
should be wiped off with a damp cloth. 

In the daily cleaning of the schoolroom, the gym- 
nasium, if there is one, is concerned. This should be 
kept faultlessly clean, for here more than in any other 
part of the building dust is being continually stirred up 
and created because of the wear of the apparatus. In 
the exercises in the gymnasium a large amount of 
breathing through the mouth occurs, and if the room 
is dusty, the dust is carried down with the breath 
and penetrates further than in nose breathing. The 
entrance of germs in this way into the lungs is more 
easily effected. The floor should be swept in the same i 
way as prescribed for the schoolroom floor, and the f« 
apparatus thoroughly dusted. Mats are a great source 
of dust in the gymnasium. These are usually covered f 
with canvas, and through the excessive use to which 
the mats are subjected, the filling becomes ground into k 



SANITATION 121 

fine particles which are forced through the canvas by 
the impacts upon the mats. They thus become fright- 
ful sources of dust in the gymnasium. Gymnasium 
mats should be covered with leather and the seams 
made dust tight. While the first cost is greater, yet 
it is made up in the end by the greater durability. 
Great labor and assiduity are requisite to keep the 
gymnasium clean. 

Periodical cleaning of the school building — In addi- 
tion to the daily cleaning of the school building, there 
are certain kinds of cleaning which need to be exe- 
cuted periodically. The blackboards, where these are 
of slate, should be washed once a week. The school 
building should be cleaned about a fortnight before 
the opening of school in the fall, thoroughly cleaned 
from attic to basement, every dark closet reno- 
vated, even to the remote parts of the basement, and 
all old material which has accumulated disposed of. 
In the fall cleaning, the floors should be scrubbed 
with hot water and soap, or soda. The walls, which 
hygiene requires shall be painted, should be thor- 
oughly wiped, as well as all woodwork. The dust 
should be removed from all ledges and projections 
where it has accumulated. 

The floors of the school building should also be 
scrubbed during the holiday vacation and again during 
the Easter recess, and at the same time the painted walls 
should be wiped off as high as the pupils can reach. 



122 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

Dustless floor oils — Some school authorities, after 
the iloor has been washed, apply a coating of oil to 
the floor. Opinion, however, is at present divided 
as to the merits of dustless floor oils. The claim 
made for these oils is that the oil when applied to 
the floor penetrates the pores for a short distance 
below the surface, and when dust or dirt falls on the 
floor a small quantity of the oil is drawn up which 
unites with the dust or dirt, rendering it somewhat 
adhesive, and thereby preventing its being easily 
stirred up by the passing to and fro in the room, or 
being blown about by currents of air. Little dust, 
moreover, is stirred up when the floor is swept. This 
claim, we think, is fully justified. A dustless floor 
oil, when properly applied, holds dust and prevents to 
a great extent its being stirred up by the constant 
movement of pupils, and its rising in sweeping. 

Against the use of dustless oil, however, it is held 
that on maple floors it leaves unsightly stains, and 
that it darkens pine floors, and therefore absorbs a 
great amount of light, thus diminishing the illumina- 
tion of rooms insufliciently lighted. Furthermore, it 
renders the floor more or less slippery, and leaves 
here and there patches of floor gummy and grimy 
that convey to the eye the impression of filth. The 
odor arising from a floor treated with dustless oil is 
objectionable to many, and lastly, a loud and serious 
protest arises because it soils dress skirts. 



SANITATION 1 23 

It is to be said that in too many instances the oil 
is improperly applied, and that several of the disad- 
vantages following its use arise from its improper 
application. The oil should be put on the floors sev- 
eral days before they are to be used. Very little 
oil should be applied to the floor, and this should be 
well spread with a brush. Owing to the porous qual- 
ity of some parts of the flooring and the hardness of 
other parts, the oil will not be equally absorbed. It 
is the unabsorbed oil which soils skirts and renders 
patches of floor gummy. To remove the oil not 
absorbed, the floor should be sprinkled with sawdust 
the day after the oil has been applied, and this thor- 
oughly rubbed about with the broom and swept up. 
The disposition of the sawdust after it is swept up 
may prove a matter of disastrous consequence unless 
proper caution is exercised, as spontaneons combus- 
tion is likely to occur in such a mixture. To remove, 
therefore, all cause of danger, the sawdust should be 
burned. 

The cleaning of desks and seats — Desks and seats 
are accumulators of filth, not only from the soiled 
hands of certain pupils, but also from the dust com- 
bined with perspiration and oil from the hands of 
pupils who are cleanly. In the great number of 
schools the furniture receives no further treatment 
than varnishing every few years. The soiled parts 
of desks and seats are always manifest to the eye 



124 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

even when varnished over. In some schools the desks 
are washed each year with soap and water. Such 
a practice, however, unless unusual care is taken, 
whitens the varnish and removes it in places. 

A very satisfactory way of cleaning desks and seats 
is to rub them off with a cloth saturated with kerosene 
oil. In this way all filth may be quickly removed 
and no harm done to the varnish. 

Desks and chairs should be cleaned in this way at 
the same time that the general cleaning of floors, 
walls, etc., is done, namely, before school opens in 
the fall, during the holiday vacation, and during the 
spring vacation. 

Clean windows — Windows are to be kept bright. 
They will, of course, be cleaned at the three periodi- 
cal cleanings mentioned, and should be cleaned as 
much oftener as is necessary to keep them perfectly 
clear. Windows not thoroughly clean decrease appre- 
ciably the illumination of the room. 

The disinfection of pencils and books — The habit of 
putting lead pencils into the mouth to wet them is a 
very common one with school children. If pencils, 
therefore, are collected and distributed again, even 
though they are marked with the names or initials 
of individual pupils, there is danger of communication 
and spread of disease in this way. Individual pencils 
are to be preferred ; but in schools where supplies 
are furnished care has, of course, to be exercised to 



SANITATION I25 

prevent waste, and hence pencils must be collected 
at the end of each day. One of two ways may be 
employed to prevent the communication of disease 
by pencils. First, each child's pencil may be marked. 
When collected he places his pencil upright in a piece 
of apparatus purchasable in school supply houses, by 
which his pencil stands apart from others. The Bul- 
letin Pencil Holder made by C. W. Bardeen, Syracuse, 
N. Y., is an excellent form of such apparatus. 

If there is not time for this method, and the pencils 
are collected indiscriminately, then they should be 
placed each night in a tightly closed receptacle and 
subjected to the vapor of commercial formalin, using 
I c.c. of formalin to 300 c.c. or less of air space. An 
exposure of only fifteen minutes under conditions just 
stated is sufficient for thorough disinfection, if circum- 
stances are such as to render it necessary that the 
disinfection of pencils from the various rooms be 
accomplished at one time, as for instance during the 
time of sweeping at the end of the day. 

Books also are a source of communicating disease, 
and these should be disinfected from time to time, 
especially when there is a possibility of contagion from 
them. They may be collected, put into a tight recep- 
tacle, and exposed to the vapor of commercial formalin 
over night, or if circumstances require it, for but fifteen 
minutes. It is well, if the receptacle is large enough, 
to place the books on end and spread them open. One 



126 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

cubic centimeter of formalin is to be used for every 
300 c.c. of air space. This proportion must be rigidly 
adhered to, so far as the limitation of the amount of air 
to I c.c. of formalin is involved. Books are not injured 
in any way by being thus subjected to formalin vapor. 
The operator should expose his face as little as possible 
to the rising vapor. No objectionable effects, however, 
would follow beyond a slight irritation of the nose and 
eyes. 

This simple and thoroughly efficient method of dis- 
infecting books was developed at the Laboratory of 
Hygiene of the University of Pennsylvania, in 1896, by 
Mr. Elmer G. Horton, at the suggestion of Dr. Billings, 
director of the laboratory at that time. 

It may be added here that wraps may also be dis- 
infected by using a twenty per cent solution of 
formalin. 

The use of colored crayons — In recent years a prac- 
tice has become very prevalent, especially in primary 
grades, of decorating blackboards with colored crayons. 
If these crayons are made by dipping the ordinary 
school crayon in aniline dyes, they are not more inju- 
rious perhaps than white crayon. Frequently, however, 
in order to get brilliancy of color, crayons are used that 
are colored with pigments containing arsenic or sulphite 
of mercury and other injurious pigments. The use of 
such crayon carries with it danger, and is in disregard 
of the health of pupils. The dust of the colored 



SANITATION 127 

crayons adheres to the erasers in common use at the 
blackboard, and in this way the particles become 
scattered so that the pupils inhale them while working 
at the board with white crayon. In rooms where pupils 
do not work at the blackboard the dust from the injuri- 
ous pigment crayons would be scattered by the teacher 
in the erasing which is necessary in the teaching of 
reading, number, and other subjects. 



CHAPTER VI 
School Baths 

The purpose of school baths — In recent years, school 
baths have been instituted, and this addition to school 
equipment is gradually gaining a larger adoption, not 
only in Europe where it started, but also in America. 
Two distinct aims are held in view in the provision 
which is made by school systems for bathing. The 
first aim is for physical exercise and health. When 
this is the aim a swimming-tank is provided. Facing 
p. 128, Fig. 27, is shown a photograph of a swimming- 
tank in Edinburgh. There is one similar to it in 
Govan, across the Clyde from Glasgow, Scotland. At 
the latter place the tank is 27 x 59 ft. long, 5 J ft. in 
its deepest part, and shallowing to 3 ft. 2 in. The 
temperature of the water in this tank is kept at 
seventy degrees. Periods during school hours are as- 
signed for the use of the swimming-tank by pupils 
of the school, and it is open on holidays and Satur- 
days after four o'clock to persons living in the 
neighborhood. The water in the tank is not changed 
frequently, but the surface of the water is skimmed 
off once or twice a week. The swimming-tank 

128 



SCHOOL BATHS 1 29 

requires of necessity shower baths in connection with 
it, pupils and all other persons being required to wash 
thoroughly with soap before entering the swimming- 
tank. Because of the coal consumed to keep the 
water warm in winter, a swimming-tank is a very 
expensive adjunct of school equipment. 

In Brookline, Mass., a swimming-tank is used in 
connection with the high school, but is not provided 
by the school authorities. 

The second aim in providing the school bath is to 
produce cleanliness and to teach cleanliness. The 
most satisfactory means to attain the second aim 
seems to be that of the shower-bath. In some 
schools a bath-tub is employed, but this cannot be 
used as economically in regard to time as the shower- 
bath. It must also be cleaned after each using. It 
will be understood, of course, that dressing rooms are 
necessary in connection with the baths. 

In the Volksschule fiir K^iaben in Giessen, Germany, 
accommodating eight hundred pupils, school baths are 
located in the basement, and consist of eight large 
zinc pans, 5 ft. in diameter and of convenient depth. 
Three pupils, during the bath, occupy each pan or 
tub. The pupils are allowed to be in the tub five 
minutes. Baths are given at the end of every reci- 
tation. In German schools there is an intermission 
of fifteen minutes at the end of each recitation, 
the recitation and the intermission generally consum- 



130 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

ing an hour. The boys bathe in relays. Each pupil 
is allowed a bath twice a week, but bathing is not 
compulsory. The time devoted to recitation periods 
throughout the school is used by the attendant for 
getting the bath ready for the next relay of pupils. 

The city of Berlin had in June, 1899, six schools in 
which facilities for bathing were fitted up. A bath 
is allowed each pupil once a week, the bath usually 
taking five minutes. No child is compelled to take 
a bath. The baths in the Berlin schools are shower 
baths. The temperature of the water as the shower 
begins is 36 R. (113° F.) and is gradually cooled 
down to 24 R. (86° F.). 

The Higher Girls' School in Zurich, Switzerland, 
accommodating from six to eight hundred pupils, has 
twelve shower-baths, and a sufficient number of 
dressing rooms. As the building is heated by hot 
water the baths are easily tempered, without provid- 
ing a separate boiler for heating the water. 

A school providing school baths must also furnish an 
attendant to direct the children, call them out of the 
bath, and keep the baths in order. 

School baths in this country — In Boston, school 
baths have been in use since 1898, in the new Paul 
Revere School building, situated at the North End of 
the city, and baths are to be provided in the new 
school building in Charlestown now under contract. 

In the Paul Revere School, there are 800 boys and 



SCHOOL BATHS 



131 



girls, and 125 pupils are bathed daily. The children 
bathe once a week during the entire school year. Bath- 
ing is not compulsory, but the opportunity to bathe is 
welcomed by ninety-nine per cent of the pupils. A 
period for bathing is allotted each class, the same as for 
a recitation. The time allowed for each pupil under 

the bath is three minutes. A 

matron has charge of the girls' 
baths, and a man looks after 
the boys. 

The baths are shower-baths, 
of which there are ten, with 
thirty dressing closets. An iron 
pipe extends down into the bath 
closet about 38 in. from the 
top. To the end of this pipe 

is attached a rubber tube with 

spray at the end, and reaching Fig. 28. 

to the floor of the closet (see 

Fig. 28). Each child controls the shower as to the 
amount of water and its direction. But an attend- 
ant controls the temperature of the water, which is 
kept at 90°. The bath closets are made of marble 
and are each "jy in. high, 35 in. widQ, and 44 in. 
deep, and fitted with a rubber sliding screen. The 
dressing closets. Fig. 29, are made of wood and differ 
slightly in dimensions from the bath closets, being 'J2\ 
in. high, 29J in. wide, and 43 in. in depth. Soap and 



132 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



towels are furnished. The average cost per bath is 
about 3^ cents. Mr. Button, the principal of the 
school, reports that the baths are a great success 
morally and physically. 

Public school No. i. New York City, is provided 
with baths. They have just been completed. They 
are shower-baths, and are placed 
in the basement of the building, 
which has an asphalt floor. Facing 
p. 131, Fig. 30, a photograph of 
these baths is shown. There are 
fourteen of the bath closets with 
dressing closets contiguous, the 
separation between the two being 
made by a sliding rubber screen, 
so that by sliding the screen the 
pupil steps from the dressing closet 
into the bath closet. Fig. 31, 
facing p. 132, gives a view of the 
interior of the bath and dressing 
closets, the sliding rubber screen 
not being in place. Each of the closets is 38 in. 
wide, by 6 ft. 4 in. deep and 7 ft. in height. The 
frames are made of iron and the sides are of wired 
glass extending down to within 6 in. of the floor. 
The temperature of the room in which the baths are 
situated is kept at 80° F. in the winter. A special 
boiler is provided to heat the water for the baths. 




Fig. 29. 




Fig. 31. 



SCHOOL BATHS 1 33 

The boiler has a capacity of 530 gals, of water, and 
this amount of water can be heated to 212° F. in 
forty minutes. Dr. Ettinger, principal of the school, 
has, as yet, not had sufficient time for observation to 
report upon the results following the adoption of the 
baths as a part of school routine. 

The school baths estabhshed and projected in this 
country are for the purpose of educating certain 
portions of the community in bodily cleanhness. That 
there is need of such education in certain parts of our 
cities cannot be denied. In crowded quarters, under 
the pressure of hard conditions and surroundings, per- 
sonal cleanliness gradually becomes neglected, habits of 
uncleanhness are formed, and moral deterioration surely 
follows. The testimony of those who, under the condi- 
tions mentioned above, have instituted school baths is 
strong with reference to the physical and moral results 
arising therefrom. A child, it is found, has much more 
respect for himself when clean, and is much more re- 
sponsive to law and order, and a positive moral influence 
is exerted upon the parents and homes of children. 
For one thing it shows itself in cleaner clothing for the 
child. It counteracts the unwholesome personal habits 
engendered in such homes, for the habit of bathing and 
cleanliness formed by the child from regular weekly 
baths from the age of six to fourteen will continue with 
him through life. 

The writer found in one of the newer schools of 



134 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

Chicago a commendable plan adopted in relation to 
provision for cleanliness, in cases when this was ren- 
dered necessary. A porcelain-lined tub and also a 
wash-bowl with hot and cold water were fitted up in a 
small room. Soap and towels were at hand. Pupils 
who came to school unclean were sent to the princi- 
pal, and the principal sent for the parent, usually 
the mother, and talked with her of the child's condi- 
tion, explaining to her what was necessary, and then 
asked her to use the facilities provided in the wash- 
room, and render the pupil fit to take his place in 
the class and go on with bis work. The principal 
was able to effect this without in any way giving 
offence, a most necessary qualification. This plan in 
its effect upon the district had proved, it is claimed, 
most salutary. It gave the parents an object-lesson 
m cleanliness; it heightened their appreciation of its 
nc ~ ^ity ; and in the best way the school reacted 
upoi, AQ mes of a certain part of the population 
w'ciiout taking the duties which belong to the home 
upon itself. 



CHAPTER VII 
School Furniture 

The school desk and chair — The most important 
articles of school furniture, considered from the point 
of view of hygiene, are desks and desk chairs, for 
the reason that the pupil spends during school hours 
so much time in work at his desk. Unless, therefore, 
desks and chairs are constructed with full regard for 
certain now well-assured laws of hygiene, they pro- 
duce defects of eyesight, injurious effects as to posture, 
and wrong habits of carriage, which are borne through 
life, and sadly enough become more pronounced as 
the 3^ears of life increase. ^^~ 

Although in America the school dei anu chair 
have for a long time been well and strongly mac!e, 
occupying a minimum amount of space, and, from a 
purely mechanical point of view, quite satisfactory, 
yet the desks and chairs used in the greater number 
of our schools are constructed with but the shghte^ . 
regard for hygienic principles. 

This condition is largely due to the fact that the 
general form and kind of desk now^ so widely used 
obtained its hold more than a generation and a half 

135 



136 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

ago, before scientific investigations and experiments 
had been instituted in order to determine what the 
hygienic requirements are for school chairs and desks. 
The desks and seats now so widely in use force chil- 
dren into postures which bend the spine to the left; 
they cause the head to droop forward, contracting the 
chest and cramping the viscera ; and by the time half 
the child's school years have passed, the position and 
shape of the bones have been altered. 

In order to understand what a proper school desk 
and chair should be, it is necessary to consider cer- 
tain physiological facts and laws and their bearing 
upon the matter. 

The first of these to be considered is the relative 
height of pupils of school age, and the inequalities 
of growth during the school period. 

Variation in height of pupils of same age — Pro- 
fessor Bowditch of Harvard University, in a most care- 
ful investigation and measurement of the height and 
weight of nearly twenty-five thousand school boys 
and girls of Boston, found certain surprising vari- 
ations. Other investigations of a like character, made 
not only in America but also in Europe, agree in 
general with the conclusions of Professor Bowditch. 

Let us take six years of age as the age of entrance 
at school. In many states the legal age is five years. 
According to Professor Bowditch's measurements of 
school boys six years of age on their last birthdays, 



SCHOOL FURNITURE 1 37 

the heights varied from 40.66 in. to 47.13 in., making 
a difference of 6.47 in. The heights of school girls 
six years of age on their last birthdays varied from 
40.57 in. to 47.36 in., a difference of 6.79 in. The 
same investigation shows that at eleven years of age 
on their last birthday, the height of school boys varies 
from 49.47 in. to 57.50 in., a difference of 8.03 in. 
With school girls of the same age, the heights ranged 
from 49.33 in. to 57.96 in., a difference of 8.63 in. 

At fifteen years of age, the range of height in boys 
was from 56.55 in. to 67.90 in., the difference being 
11.35 in. With girls of the same age, the range 
was from 57.39 in. to 65.00 in., the difference being 
7.61 in. 

The variations in height for each year of age not 
already given would show just as surprising differ- 
ences. It is plainly necessary, then, that some pro- 
vision in regard to the sizes of desks and chairs 
should be made to meet these variations. 

Variations in growth — Besides the variations in 
height there is the matter of variation in growth, and 
for this provision must also be made in the construc- 
tion of a proper desk and chair. 

The growth of girls is most rapid from twelve to 
fourteen years of age, while from fourteen to sixteen 
the growth of boys is most rapid. The most rapid 
growth, it will be seen, falls about two years later 
with boys than with girls. The annual growth dur- 



138 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

ing the maximum period is often an inch more than 
the annual growth at other periods. Another varia- 
tion in growth is that with large children the period 
of rapid growth comes earlier than with small children. 

There exist, moreover, certain anatomical differences 
of proportion between boys and girls. The sitti?ig 
height of girls is greater proportionately than their 
standing height, in comparison with boys. 

The necessity of vertical adjustableness of desk and 
chair — These facts clearly show that desks and seats 
of uniform size, or even of two or three sizes, for pupils 
of the same school age, would force many pupils to 
sit in positions not only uncomfortable to them, but 
injurious to the body. These various factors of dif- 
ference in height and growth can only be accom- 
modated by desks and desk chairs the height of 
which may be easily changed. In other words, desks 
and chairs must have some mechanical contrivance 
which will admit of their being raised and lowered 
to accommodate the difference of size in pupils, and 
the rapidity in growth. 

But desks and desk seats that may be adjusted so 
as to provide for differences of height and differences 
of growth in pupils would by no means constitute a 
proper desk and chair required by the demands of 
hygiene. The desk and seat must not favor short- 
sightedness, and it must not force a pupil into wrong 
postures as shown in Fig. 32, facing p.' 138, that at 




Fig. 3: 



SCHOOL FURNITURE 



139 



length become deformities of carriage. The matter is 
of much greater importance than school men generally 
recognize. The desks now widely in use are, as a 
rule, instruments productive of deformities. Let it be 
remembered that the pupil is at school from five to 
six hours a day, for from eight to twelve years. This 
is the greater 
part of the most 
important period 
of his growth, a 
time when in- 
jurious condi- 
tions leave their 
deepest and 
most lasting 
results. 

The desk and 

seat must favor ^^^* ^^' 

proper posture — In order to set forth what further condi- 
tions a proper desk and seat must possess, it is necessary 
to discuss the factors involved in a proper posture of 
the body. When the pupil sits erect, with the pelvis 
resting equally on the seat, with the arms beside the 
hips, and with the head poised so as to bring the 
line of direction within a line joining the seat bones, 
namely, the bones of the pelvis which rest on the 
seat, the pupil is in a symmetrical posture, a posture 
which is the most economic of muscle energy, and a 




I40 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



posture, moreover, conducive to physical beauty and 
correct carriage. But the demands of school life do 
not permit the pupil to keep this posture. Reading, 
writing, ciphering, drawing, etc., are exercises to be 
performed at the desk. It is these exercises which, 
with improperly constructed desks and seats, lead to 

deforming postures 
and to short-sighted- 
ness. The desk 
and seat must, there- 
fore, be of such a 
plan of construction 
and be so set as to 
enable the pupil to 
perform the exer- 
cises, or accomplish 
the work usually 
performed at the 
desk, with as little 
deviation from a symmetrical and easy posture as 
possible. 

Fixed plus distance to be avoided — If the desk and 
seat are set at what is termed a plus distance,^ then 

1 Desk and seat are set at a plus distance when a vertical line dropped 
from the rear edge of the desk top and a vertical line dropped from the 
front edge of the seat to the floor leave a space between them not covered 
by desk top or seat. Fig. 33 illustrates plus distance. 

Desk and seat are set at a minus distance when a vertical line dropped 
from the rear edge of the desk top would be in the rear of a vertical line 




Fig. 34. 



SCHOOL FURNITURE 



141 



the body is thrown forward, the spine is curved 
backward and out, and the lungs, heart, and ab- 
dominal viscera are more or less cramped. Let the 
reader make a personal experiment by sitting at a 
desk the chair of which is set at a plus distance, or, 
what is practically the same thing, at a desk which is 
too low for him. 
If he observes 
closely the posture 
into which he falls 
as he works at the 
desk, he will realize 
the injury that is 
produced upon the 
growing child by 
the occupancy of 
such desks and 
chairs during his 
school life. The 

reader cannot fail to notice that the ribs are forced 
nearer together, restricting the expansion of the lungs 
and the action of the heart, and that the ventral sur- 
face of the body below the ribs is folded in, pushing the 
stomach out of place, cramping it, and consequently in- 
dropped from the front edge of the seat. Fig. 34 illustrates minus dis- 
tance. 

Desk and seat are set at a zero distance when a vertical line dropped 
from the rear edge of the desk top would coincide with a vertical line 
dropped from the front edge of the seat. Fig. 35 illustrates zero distance. 




Fig. 35. 



142 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

terfering with its functions. With such a posture, the 
muscles of the neck tire, and the head drops down, 
because the pull of gravity upon the head fatigues the 
muscles and overcomes the force which the muscles are 
capable of exerting to hold the head up. On the other 
hand, in the symmetrical posture spoken of above, 
the pull of gravity upon the head does not have to be 
counteracted by the muscles of the neck. When the 
head drops down in the forward leaning of the body 
caused by plus distance of desk and seat, the eyes 
are brought too near the book, and a condition pro- 
ductive of shortsightedness is imposed upon the pupil. 
It will be seen, then, that a fixed plus distance 
between seat and desk is to be avoided, and that 
the desk and seat must be set at a minus distance, 
so that the pupil may not be compelled to assume 
injurious postures which entail the serious results 
already stated. 

The desk top must be adjustable for minus and plus 
distance — - The minus distance at which a desk and 
seat are set, however, must be great enough so that 
the rear edge of the desk top may touch the ventral 
part of the body without pressing against it. This 
would bring the book or writing exercise near enough 
to the pupil so that he could sit in a symmetrical pos- 
ture, or in other words a posture in which the line 
of direction would fall within the line joining the seat 
bones. But a fixed minus distance as great as this 




Fig. 36. 




Fig. 2>7. 



SCHOOL FURNITURE 1 43 

would force the pupil at all times, whether reading 
a book at his desk, whether writing, drawing, or 
ciphering, to keep to a posture that would shortly 
become extremely tiresome because certain muscles 
are kept continuously in use, while many other 
muscles are almost wholly inactive. The desk and 
seat with so great a fixed minus distance would, 
moreover, impose a difficult, slow, and awkward 
movement upon the pupil in sitting down to his 
desk, and also in rising from his seat to take position 
in the aisle, when called upon to recite. It is 
evident, therefore, that the desk top should slide 
forward and back, or, in other words, be adjustable 
for large or small minus distances. It should also 
be adjustable for plus distances as well as for 
minus distances, as a small plus distance will give the 
pupil more freedom of movement while at his desk, 
and will also permit him to sit down at the desk and 
to rise from it with "greater ease. 

Proper slope of desk top necessary — Thus far we 
have shown the necessity, on hygienic grounds, for 
desks and desk- chairs, or seats, adjustable as to 
height, and also for desk tops adjustable as to plus 
and minus distances. But still another feature is 
necessary in school desks to meet the requirements 
of hygiene. The desk top must have a proper 
slope. The height of a desk must be such that the 
pupil while writing may sit with his elbows not more 



144 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

than a hand's breadth from the body. If a desk top 
has not sufficient slope, it will, when drawn back to 
make the requisite minus distance necessary in writ- 
ing, be too high, and will thus throw the elbows out 
from the body and raise the shoulders. Such a posi- 
tion is tiresome and uncomfortable, and soon leads 
to a collapse of posture. If the adjustable top of 
the desk has an insufficient slope, say from five to 
eight degrees — the slope most commonly found in 
desks — the desk top when drawn back will be brought 
too near the eyes. Such a condition is greatly pro- 
ductive of myopia. Oculists agree in demanding 
that the book or writing paper should be distant 
from the eye at least 12 in., and they hold that 
when the book or paper comes nearer the eye than 
this, myopia is thereby favored. Other factors, how- 
ever, than those already adduced, must be considered 
in reaching a conclusion as to what the amount of 
slope should be. It is well known that the line of 
sight, for the least tax upon the eyes, should fall 
upon the printed page perpendicular to its plane. 
With the head in good posture, the page of the book 
would need to be held at an angle of about sixty 
degrees from the horizontal and somewhat below the 
level of the eyes, for easy reading. It is a physio- 
logical fact that the eyes are naturally directed a 
little downward, because such action of the muscles 
of the eyes is not accompanied by fatigue as when 



SCHOOL FURNITURE 1 45 

the eyes are directed upward, or even on a level, for 
any length of time. 

But it seems impossible to construct a desk to 
meet such a condition with the other conditions neces- 
sary. Books must be placed upon the desk for read- 
ing, and writing exercises must be performed on the 
desk. It becomes a question, then, of the greatest 
slope possible consistent with the demands of certain 
practical requirements. Some writers upon school 
desks have gone so far as to recommend a slope of 
45° for the desk top ; others have recommended a 
slope of 30°. It is obvious that with so great a 
slope as either of these, ink would not flow easily 
from the point of the pen. And while slopes of 
45° and 30° would unquestionably render the letters 
in reading but little foreshortened, and therefore less 
taxing upon the eyes, books, papers, and other arti- 
cles could not be kept upon the desk, but would 
slide off with the least disturbance. Further than 
this, the great bend of the arm at the elbow neces- 
sitated by slopes of 45° and 30° would tend to con- 
strict the muscles of the arm and render more difficult 
their easy coordination and free employment in writ- 
ing exercises. After repeated experiments during 
the past five years, the author believes that the 
greatest slope permissible for the top of desks when 
all the conditions are taken into account is 15° — the 
slope recommended by the Vienna expert school desk 



146 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

commission. Such a slope permits a perfect posture 
in vertical writing, and it may be remarked that 
with a lesser slope perfect posture cannot be main- 
tained when writing the vertical script. Even with 
a slope of 15°, books and papers have quite a ten- 
dency to find the floor, and so it has been found 
necessary, to meet the needs of certain school exer- 
cises, to have the desk so constructed that the lid 
may be made to assume less slope than 15° — the 
slope for writing, ciphering, etc. — as is shown in 
Fig. 38, facing p. 146. 

With a slope to the lid of 15°, with desk and 
seat adjustable as to height, and with the desk 
lid adjustable for as great a minus distance as 4 in., 
the desk and seat admit of such a complete hygienic 
arrangement that the pupil can easily maintain correct 
posture in writing. His shoulders will not be raised, 
nor will he be obliged to bend forward, and the 
writing will be the proper distance from the eye. 

Attention was directed in the earlier part of this 
chapter to the differences in height of boys and girls 
of the same age, and to the differences in the rate 
of growth. It was pointed out that such factors as 
differences in height and growth could only be ac- 
commodated by desks and chairs the height of which 
might be easily changed. Having pointed out the 
hygienic requirements in relation to the school desk, 
and having given the reasons therefor, the require- 




Fig. 38. 




Fig. 39. 




Fig. 50. 



Fig. 5; 




Fig. 51. 

Globes I and 4 have simple horizontal prisms on the outside. Globes 3 and 6 
vertical prisms on the inside. 9 is a frosted globe. 8 is the bare Welsbach light. 
Globes 2, 5, and 7 are Holophanes. 



SCHOOL FURNITURE 1 47 

ments with reference to the desk seat or chair, and 
the reasons for them, must now be presented. 

The desk chair or seat should be of such a height 
that the thigh of the pupil when seated will be per- 
fectly level, the lower leg being in an exactly vertical 
position, with the foot resting wholly upon the floor. 
It will be seen, then, that the thigh and lower leg, 
when the chair is of the proper height, form a right 
angle with each other. To secure this position of 
the thigh for each pupil, the seat must be adjustable 
as to height. Its mechanism, as well as that of the 
desk, must be such that it can be adjusted to as 
small differences as a quarter of an inch over the 
whole range of its elevation or depression. Another 
factor is also involved in affording means for keep- 
ing the thigh in a level position. The bottom of the 
seat or chair cannot be flat, but must be somewhat 
concave, not exceeding in depth f in. The lowest 
part of this concavity should be where the seat bones 
rest. The concavity should begin ij in. back of the 
front edge of the seat. This concavity has also the 
additional advantage of counteracting the tendency to 
slide forward on the seat at the times when the pupil 
leans against the back of the chair. The concavity, 
however, must not be so deep as to throw the pelvis 
into an injurious oblique position when the pupil sits 
sidewise in his seat. 

The chair should possess a back rest for support 



148 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

when the pupil leans back to relieve and rep' 
muscles that have become fatigued by other postur^ 
and exercise. This back rest should extend up high 
enough to support the lower parts of the shoulder- 
blades. It should not be straight or flat, but slightly 
concave toward the front. 

The reader will recall the posture described as 1 
symmetrical and conducive to correct carriage. In this 
posture the line of direction coincides with the line 
joining the seat bones. But the arms are then sus- 
pended beside the hips. In exercises at the desk, the j 
arms must necessarily be thrown out of this position. . 
This, of course, shifts the line of direction, making it fall ; 
sometimes in front of the line joining the seat bones, and 
sometimes behind it, depending, of course, upon the posi- 
tion of the arms. It is evident that when the line of 
direction falls outside the line joining the seat bones, 
other parts of the body are brought into use to consti- 
tute a base of support for the body. When the line 
of direction falls in front of the seat bones' line, the 
other points of support involved are the thighs where 
they rest upon the front part of the seat of the chair. 
The seat of the chair must not, therefore, be too narrow, 
as this would render the chair tiresome to sit in. More- 
over, a narrow seat permits the pupil to slide forward 
easily, because of the leverage which his trunk exerts 
against the back of the chair, thus leading to one of the [ 
worst and most deforming postures, namely, that in j 



SCHOOL FURNITURE 1 49 

lich the body is supported by the lower end of the 

i opine as this rests upon the chair seat, and by the 

I shoulder-blades and spine where these press against 

j the back of the chair. In this posture, a harmful press- 

i ure is brought upon the sacrum and coccyx. The seat 

I of the chair, therefore, should be at least two-thirds as 

long as the thigh, and its front edge should be rounded 

to prevent pressure upon the nerves and blood vessels 

I of the thigh at this point. The width of the seat is also 

' of importance. A seat of much greater width than the 

two thighs offers constant temptations to bad postures. 

! Chairs are therefore to be favored rather than seats 

attached to the desk. 

Hip rest — Besides having the chair seat of the length 
just given, another feature has been recommended in 
order not only to prevent the pupil from assuming the 
deforming posture described in a preceding paragraph, 
but also to aid him in more easily maintaining a good 
^osture. This feature is a hip rest. 

The rest supports the small of the back and helps 
the pupil to maintain an upright posture with a small 
expenditure of energy. A simple experiment will 
convince the reader of the efficacy of a hip rest. If, 
when sitting in a fairly good posture and leaning 
against the back of the chair, an ordinary sized book 
is put between the chair and the small of the back, 
it will be found that a book so placed not only forces 
the body to take a more upright posture, but that it 









150 SCHOOL HYGIENE l 

supports the body in such a posture. From the em- ( 
phasis that has been already placed on the difference 
in height of pupils of the same age, it is evident that 
the hip rest should be so constructed mechanically 
that it can be raised or lowered. 

Foot rest — A bar near the floor and extending 
between the standards of the desk for a foot rest is 
sometimes attached to desks. The weight of opinion 
is now against foot rests. In the first place, they 
restrict the free movement of the pupil's feet while \ 
at his desk, interfering with his opportunity to shift i 
his feet and legs for relief from inactivity. In the f 
second place, foot rests prevent the thorough sweeping 
of the floor under the desks. These reasons are 
sufficient to condemn foot rests. 

Single desks — Every school ought to be furnished 
with single desks and seats. No double desks, or 
desks at which four pupils may sit, should be per- 
mitted in this age, in any school. Single desks and ( 
seats are a check upon the spread of infectious dis- |j 
eases, they preclude the overcrowding of schoolrooms, 
they render the control of the school by the teacher 
much easier, and they insure the pupil his individual \ 
right to accomplish his tasks without interruption and 
distraction by a seatmate. 

The Heusinger desk — There are now in the market 
several good desks and seats which admit of being 
adjusted vertically to meet the varying growth and 

4 



SCHOOL FURNITURE 151 

height of pupils. The principle of vertical adjustable- 
ness seems to be pretty thoroughly recognized. But 
the necessity for proper slope for writing, as well as 
for adjustableness for plus and minus distance — a 
matter equally as important as vertical adjustableness, 
— demands and should receive full recognition from 
manufacturers of desks. We are not concerned here 
with the commercial advantages or asserted merits of 
desks. The one condition on which we would judge 
any desk is, how fully it embodies the hygienic prin- 
ciples which have been shown to be indispensable for 
health, posture, and unimpairment of vision. 

We insert here illustrations and the description of 
a desk and chair which up to the present time best 
embody, in our judgment, all the hygienic principles 
which have thus far been formulated for proper desks 
and chairs. 

The illustrations facing p. 142 show the features of 
the Heusinger desk. The desk and chair are each ad- 
justable vertically. The desk is constructed according 
to the box pattern, and the lid has a slope of 15°. 
When closed, as in Fig. 36, there is a distance 
of one inch between the front edge of the chair seat 
and the edge of the desk lid, technically known as 
plus distance, which affords the pupil greater ease in 
taking his seat or rising from it. Fig. 37 shows the 
desk lid drawn down to a minus distance of three inches, 
so that in writing or ciphering the pupil may maintain 



152 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

an unharmful posture. In Fig. 38 another feature of 
the desk will be seen. By throwing up two short 
wooden standards fastened to the inner sides of the 
desk box, the desk lid is raised ten degrees, giving the 
lid a slope of five degrees, a necessity in certain kinds 
of desk work to prevent specimens or objects from 
being easily brushed off, as would be the case with 
a constant slope of the desk lid at 1$°. In Fig. 40, 
facing p. 152, the adjustable hip rest will be noticed 
fastened to the upright rods of the chair back. The 
Heusinger desk has been under schoolroom test for 
the past four years, and its superior advantages fully 
proved. It is here described for the first time. The 
posture a pupil may maintain while writing when 
sitting at this desk is shown in Fig. 59, facing page 
210. 

The Ideal desk — This desk is worthy of notice here, 
because it is adjustable for minus and plus distance. 
The desk and seat are shown in Fig. 39, facing p. 146. 
The desk is not adjustable as to height. This, it must 
be said, is a defect, although a defect which might 
easily be overcome by a simple mechanical device. 
Ideal desks are made, however, of different sizes, and 
the seat is adjustable vertically. The mechanism of the 
seat is such that the pupil may himself adjust his seat 
to the proper height. The back of the seat, it will be 
noticed, has an easily adjustable hip rest. The slope of 
the desk is 10°. Its greatest advantage is the sliding 



SCHOOL FURNITURE 1 53 

top. This permits of setting desk and seat at a plus 
distance, and when the sliding top is drawn down, a 
full minus distance is secured for writing and cipher- 
ing. The sliding top when pushed up is held in 
position, so that the ink well and books beneath are 
all covered. 

Rules for adjusting desks and seats — the chair — The 
upper surface of the seat should be as high above the 
floor as the child's leg is long, measured from the sole 
of the foot to the underside of the thigh near the knee 
joint, when the thigh and lower leg are bent at right 
angles. A measuring rod is furnished by some makers 
of school furniture, as shown in Fig. 40, facing p. 152. 
It consists of a square rod on which there is a scale 
of inches. The square rod is fitted with a sliding 
arm, having two branches projecting at right angles 
on opposite sides of the rod, but with one branch of 
the arm below the other a distance equal to the thick- 
ness of the chair bottom. The pupil is seated with 
the foot pressing fully upon the floor and the lower 
leg vertical. The upper branch of the projecting arm 
is placed under the thigh near the knee joint, and 
this distance read off on the scale. The number of 
inches may then be written on a piece of paper and 
left on the desk fastened under the ink well cover 
for the janitor to adjust the chair to this height. The 
chair bottom may then be raised or lowered, and rested 
on the lower branch of the projecting arm as shown 



154 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

in Fig. 40, and quickly secured by the nut on the 
chair standard. 

The hip rest — The hip rest must be adjusted so 
that it supports the back just above the hips. 

The desk — The top of the desk should be raised 
or lowered, as the case may demand, so that the 
pupil, in writing, will not have his shoulders raised in 
the least, nor be forced to drop the head and bend 
the spine forward. For desks adjustable for minus 
distance, the sHding top must be drawn down so that 
it nearly touches the ventral side of the body, when 
the pupil is sitting in correct posture after the chair 
has been properly adjusted. While in this position 
the desk should be raised or lowered, as may be 
required, so that the pupil's forearms will rest easily 
on the top, with the elbows a hand's breadth from 
the body and in proper position for writing with a 
desk slope of 15°. With this adjustment the pupil 
will be able to maintain an easy and correct posture. 
His shoulders will not be raised, nor will he be 
obliged to drop the head or bend the spine forward. 

Periodical adjusting — The period of maximal growth 
in height of boys and girls extends from the end of 
March to the middle of August. The minimal period 
of growth in height follows the maximal period, and 
extends to the middle of November, a period of three 
and a half months. The middle period of growth in 
height follows the minimal period, and extends to the 



I 



SCHOOL FURNITURE 1 55 

end of March, a period of about four months. The 
ratios of the daily rate of growth for the maximal and 
middle periods to the minimal period are respectively 
two and a half and two to one. Giving heed to these 
facts, desks and seats should be adjusted vertically 
twice a year, at the opening of school in September and 
again in February or March. At whatever time 
during the year a pupil enters school or is transferred to 
another room, his seat and chair should be adjusted 
to him. 

Neglect in adjusting desks — Instances are very 
common in which schools have been furnished with seats 
and desks adjustable vertically, and after adjustment one 
or two times the matter has been neglected, thereby sub- 
jecting the pupils to just as harmful conditions as if the 
desks were not adjustable. Makers of certain desks 
are to some extent responsible for this. The adjustment 
of the chair with its one standard is an easy matter, but 
it is a very tedious piece of work to adjust the desks of 
a school when considerable time must be spent by the 
teacher and the janitor with each pupil in getting the 
desk properly adjusted to him. The teacher, no matter 
how fully she appreciates the value of adjusting the 
desks, cannot be expected to do it, and furthermore, she 
is not competent mechanically. The desk has two 
standards, and the two standards are what give the diffi- 
culty, because the desk while one standard is being fast- 
ened is likely to sag to the opposite side. A piece of 



156 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

apparatus might easily be constructed which could be 
placed between the standards of the desk, supporting 
the desk from the bottom. It could be so devised that, 
by the moving of a lever or the turning of a crank, the 
desk would be quickly raised or lowered. The desk at 
every point would be in horizontal position, and when 
the desk had reached the right height the standards 
could be easily fastened. Until some simple device of 
this kind is furnished, there will be neglect in adjust- 
ing desks. The same scale used for the seat could 
be used to measure the distance of the elbow from 
the floor when the pupil sits in correct posture in the 
seat which has been previously adjusted. This meas- 
urement could be left on the desk, and with the appa- 
ratus spoken of the janitor could quickly and easily 
adjust the desk to the required height. 



CHAPTER VIII 

Postures and Physical Exercises 

Conditions productive of bodily deformities — The 

conclusions drawn from the physiological investiga- 
tions made in Europe and America into the distortion 
of the body caused by the demands and permissive 
practices of school life are startling in the extreme. 
The longer period which children now spend in school, 
and the severer demands which an enlarged curriculum 
makes upon them, place upon school authorities and 
teachers a heavy responsibility. Every condition must 
be eliminated and every care exercised to prevent the 
acquiring of physical defects in school, as well as to 
prevent the accentuation of those physical defects 
which the child may have possessed before entering 
school. Improper chairs and desks at which pupils 
are obliged to sit, the wrong postures which they are 
allowed to take in standing as well as in sitting, and 
the muscular fatigue caused by the inactivity of a great 
number of the muscles of the body for a long period, 
— all these exist in surprising degree in a great 
majority of schools in this country, and they can be 
regarded in no other light than as causes greatly pro- 

157 



158 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

ductive of bodily deformities. What Dr. C. F. Scudder 
found in Boston, in 1892, still exists, a thousand times 
over, in our schools. In several rooms he discovered 
girls who differed seven years in age, and very nearly 
22 J in. in height, seated at desks and in seats of exactly 
the same size. In another instance he found 161 
pupils, ranging between nine and seventeen years of 
age, and differing i/f in. in height, seated in seats and 
at desks of exactly the same size. In still another 
school he found 91 girls, differing in age five years and 
two months, and in height a little over a foot, seated in 
seats and desks of the same height. Eighteen per cent 
of this last number of pupils, when sitting back in their 
seats, could not touch the floor with their heels. He 
reported that twenty per cent of the girls of the gram- 
mar grades of Boston were decidedly round-shouldered 
as a result of malpositions due to defective desks and 
seats. 

Postures in sitting — A posture which pupils fall into 
because of defective seats and desks, and also because 
of inactivity from long confinement, not only at defec- 
tive desks and seats, but also at hygienic desks and 
seats, is shown in Figs. 41 and 42. In this posture the 
pupil has slipped forward in his seat, and is resting 
nearly the whole weight of the trunk on the end of 
the spine and on the shoulder-blades. It is held that 
the need of motion at the hip joint is an important 
factor in causing the pupil to assume this posture. 




Fig. 42. 




Pig. 43. 



POSTURES AND PHYSICAL EXERCISES 1 59 

The injurious effects which result from such a posture 
must be evident to any one having an elementary 
knowledge of the structure of the human body. The 
dropping of the head downward, not only constricts 
the chest and tends to decrease the amount of air 
inspired, but it also stretches the muscles which con- 
nect the head with the spine, with the result that these 
muscles at length become elongated, and as a conse- 
quence not only does the pupil become round-shoul- 
dered, but there ensues a carriage in which the head is 
pitched forward. By such a posture the erect car- 
riage of the body is further distorted in the reduction 
and change of the natural curves of the spine. Com- 
posed as the spinal column is of vertebrae and inter- 
vening cartilages, it possesses considerable mobility, 
and is, therefore, easily susceptible to the influence 
of gravity. The posture here spoken of, bringing 
some of the weight of the internal organs upon the 
spinal column, tends to produce in the spine a curve 
backward. 

Another injurious posture is shown in Fig. 43, where 
the pupil is stooping over his desk. This . posture, 
besides being a cause of myopia, contracts the chest, 
interferes with free respiration, and puts additional 
labor on the heart because it is constricted. For the 
reasons given in the preceding paragraph, it results in 
round shoulders, a curving of the spine backward, and 
a carriage in which the head is pitched forward. An- 



l60 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

other effect which follows such a posture is the dis- 
placement of the internal organs, not only of the 
abdomen, but also of the pelvis. A pupil is thrown 
into such a posture by a desk which is too low for him, 
and also by a desk and seat set at a plus distance. 

The sitting posture most economical of muscle 
power, and at the same time most conducive to proper 
carriage, of the body, has already been set forth on 
p. 139. This posture has been described by Dr. Eliza 
M. Mosher, whose contributions on the subject of 
habitual postures of school children are very clear and 
valuable. In this posture the pelvis rests equally on 
the chair, the spinal column is erect, the head is poised 
directly above the spinal column, and the arms are 
balanced on a line with the hips. This posture is the 
most economical of muscle force because there is no 
antagonism between the force which the muscles must 
exert to keep the body in this position, and the force 
exerted by gravity upon the head and the trunk. 
When, however, the head drops forward, then muscle 
power must be exerted against the force of gravity, a 
condition speedily resulting in fatigue of the muscles 
involved. 

As has been explained in Chap. VII, desks and 
seats must be constructed upon hygienic principles, in 
order that the pupil shall be under no disadvantages 
conducing to bad postures in so far as desk and seat 
are in themselves concerned. But it is often found, 



POSTURES AND PHYSICAL EXERCISES l6l 

in schools which have adopted adjustable desks and 
seats, that postures are far from what they should be 
with the improved desks. The simple fact is that 
under such conditions pupils have been kept at their 
desks until they are fatigued and have not sufficient 
muscle power and control to maintain proper postures. 
This state of fatigue results from the inactivity of cer- 
tain muscles and the protracted use of but a few. 
Let it be remembered that the best school desk be- 
comes exceedingly tiresome to the pupil when but 
little opportunity is given during a school session for 
complete change and active readjustment of the vari- 
ous muscles, such change being an imperative physio- 
logical demand of the growing organism. 

Periods of relief, and corrective exercises — In order, 
then, that the pupil may be in proper physical con- 
dition to maintain an erect posture while in his seat, and 
thus to form correct habits which he will carry through 
life, he must be given periods of relief from sitting at 
the desk, and corrective exercises at different times 
during the day. In the first year the child should not 
be confined at his desk more than one-third of the time. 
Short periods of occupation at the desk, with periods of 
activity twice as long out of his seat, should be the 
rule for the first year. These periods of activity may 
nearly all of them consist of some form of physical 
movement correlated with intellectual exercises. In the 
succeeding years of the elementary school the total 



1 62 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

amount of time occupied at the desk may be gradually 
lengthened, but in addition to regular Tecesses there 
must be provided frequent short intervals of respite 
from sitting at the desk devoted mostly to some form 
of brisk physical exercise. In the last year of the 
elementary school course, besides the recesses and 
the passing to and from recitation, there should be 
four stated periods of three minutes each during the 
morning session and three during the afternoon session, 
devoted to physical exercises designed to bring into 
use muscles inactive at the desk and to counteract the 
tendencies to malposition. 

Postures in standing — In Fig. 44, which is taken by 
permission from Dr. Mosher's study printed in the 
Educational Review of November, 1892, a posture is 
shown that Dr. Mosher deprecates very strongly. This 
is a posture frequently assumed in the schoolroom by 
boys and girls, but more frequently by girls. It is a 
posture no good teacher will tolerate. It will be seen by 
reference to the picture that in this posture the left hip 
is lowered and the left shoulder raised, elongating the 
left side of the trunk, and of course producing a bending 
of the spine to the left. In this posture the tendency is 
to drop the head to the right in order to bring the line of 
gravity nearer the right foot, thus putting the body in 
such a position that muscular force need not be exerted 
to overcome the force of gravity upon the extended parts. 
It will further be seen that the line connecting the hip 



^tatfyxQ' ^professional Hibrarg 

Edited by NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



Jh§^)<^>^o 



m ^ ^ O 






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POSTURES AND PHYSICAL EXERCISES 1 63 

joints is in an oblique position. The intestines because 
of their mobility are, therefore, thrown over to the left 
side. Their weight, falling upon the pelvic organs, dis- 
places them to the right. The injury to health and the 
disorders, especially in the case of girls, arising from 
such postures becoming habitual, entail suffering, de- 
ranged conditions, and seated sources of weakness, 
requiring in many cases surgical treatment. The faith- 
ful teacher will not allow pupils to assume such a 
posture. 

Proper posture in standing — When the pupil stands 
with the heels so placed that neither of them is in 
advance of the other, and with the weight on both legs, 
we have a posture in which the trunk is evenly poised 
on its supports, the pelvis, and all the parts of the body 
are symmetrically placed. Such a posture is shown in 
Fig. 45, taken from Dr. Mosher's article to which refer- 
ence has already been made. If in this posture, the 
weight is thrown slightly on the balls of the feet, the 
hips drawn back, the head poised a little back with 
the chin drawn in, the chest will be thrown forward, 
and we have correct posture for standing. It is the 
posture which the pupil should be trained to take while 
standing for short periods. Since, however, both legs 
undergo the same amount of muscular tension at the 
same time, it is a posture which the pupil will not keep 
if he is obliged to stand long. Muscular rehef and 
change are necessary. If, then, in any lesson-exercise 



1 64 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

the pupil is required to stand four or five minutes 
or more, he should be directed to change from this 
posture by placing one foot slightly in advance of the 
other, after the manner of the public speaker. Fig. 46, 
and to vary this from time to time by placing the other 
foot slightly in advance and bringing the weight upon 
the leg which had previously been favored. 

Additional suggestions — Bad postures in sitting are 
more injurious in their effects than bad postures in 
standing, as they are usually maintained for much 
longer periods of time than the bad postures assumed 
in standing. Sitting at the seat with one leg crossed 
over the other induces malformations, especially in girls. 
Improper postures have a decidedly more injurious 
effect upon girls, as a general rule, than upon boys. 
The more varied and greater amount of physical activity 
indulged in by boys unquestionably counteracts to a 
considerable extent the effects of bad postures upon 
them. Because of the lesser variety and amount of 
physical activity on the part of girls, their general mus- 
cular habits become confirmed at an earHer period than 
the muscular habits of boys. This emphasizes the 
great importance of watching more closely the posture 
of girls, and of exercising the utmost care to prevent, if 
possible, improper postures from becoming habitual. It 
may be added, in conclusion, that malpositions from 
wrong postures become fixed in a much shorter time in 
pupils that are poorly nourished. 



POSTURES AND PHYSICAL EXERCISES 1 65 

Responsibility on the home as well as the school — 

It must be remembered, however, that the school can- 
not be expected to prevent malpositions unless aided 
by the home. Malformations arising from bad habits 
of posture are frequently chargeable to the home itself. 
Take, for instance, the habit so prevalent among girls 
of carrying books propped upon one hip. If one will 
observe any group of high school girls or girls of the 
upper grammar grades on the way to or from school, he 
will reahze what effect a habit of this kind, kept up for 
four or five years, must have in producing malpositions 
of the body. The books rest in an oblique position 
supported by the left arm and left hip, as a rule. In 
this case, the left shoulder sags, there is a lengthening 
of the right side with a corresponding shortening of the 
left, causing the ribs on the left side to approach each 
other and those on the right to diverge from each 
other, and giving the spine a lateral curvature with its 
concavity toward the left. To counteract the force 
of gravity, the head is thrown slightly over to the 
right. 

The school can do little more in this matter than 
explain to pupils the injurious effects that ensue from 
the habit of carrying books in this fashion. Such expla- 
nation will doubtless exert some influence in checking 
the practice. Its abolition, however, devolves, not upon 
the school, but upon parents. 

Physical exercise — The tendency in schools gener- 



1 66 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

ally is to overemphasize intellectual development and 
the acquirement of recorded knowledge, by filling 
every available minute of the school programme with 
requirements designed to accomplish these ends. De- 
spite all that has been written of the dependence of 
mental development upon physical development, there 
has not yet been accorded to physical culture the place 
in our schools which its importance demands. How 
best to secure physical culture is undoubtedly the ques- 
tion of greatest importance in education at the present 
time. While perhaps the time has not come for accord- 
ing to physical culture its rightful place and share of 
time in our schools, and the reorganization of curricula 
and daily programmes on the principle that thorough 
mental development cannot be brought about without 
opportunity for full physical development, yet there is 
need that greater attention be given to physical exer- 
cise, and that it be accorded a greater amount of time in 
the daily programme than it now receives. While we 
recognize that there is a growing appreciation of the 
need and value of giving a certain amount of time each 
day to physical exercise, yet we find that in the major- 
ity of schools the physical organisms of pupils are 
not only pretty largely neglected, but that deteriorating •! 
conditions are tolerated against which the growing 
child must struggle. 

The recess — About fifteen years ago a movement 
began for the abolition of the old time mid-forenoon | 



POSTURES AND PHYSICAL EXERCISES 1 67 

and mid-afternoon recess. Very plausible arguments 
were advanced to show the good which would follow 
such a change. Experience, and also new knowl- 
edge of what is necessary for the development of 
the motor areas of the brain, show the speciousness 
of most of those arguments, and the educational short- 
sightedness of that change. Happily there is now 
evident a tendency to return to the old-time recess. 

A recess of not less than fifteen minutes during the 
morning session and again during the afternoon session, 
when all pupils, if the weather and climate permit, 
go out of doors and engage in some form of physi- 
cal activity, is of incalculable value in its results upon 
physical health and mental development. 

The freedom which the pupil feels is his during 
recess fosters spontaneity in play and in a varied 
round of games. In play, whether free or in a 
game, his spirits are joyous, the very activity in which 
he is engaged is a delight to him, thus attesting that 
nature's demands for the child are being properly met. 
The whole nervous system becomes accordingly in- 
vigorated. 

The physical activities which the recess directly 
promotes counteract to some extent the tendencies 
which improper postures exert toward malformations. 
Through the fuller breathing which physical exercise 
compels, the circulation is equalized and the blood 
oxygenated. 



1 68 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

Daily periods for physical exercise — Besides the 
physical activity which the recesses afford, there 
should be given to each grade, every school day, at 
least two short periods of systematic physical exercises, 
designed to promote quick and strong muscular con- 
trol of the various parts of the body, to equalize the cir- 
culation which mental effort combined with sitting at the 
desk has rendered more or less uneven, to give proper 
carriage to the body, and to expand and enlarge the 
chest so that deep breathing shall become a fixed habit. 
In a system of exercises designed to secure these results, 
care must be taken not to overtax the heart. 

An eclectic system of physical exercises carefully 
chosen is preferable to adherence to any particular 
system. The Swedish system, it may be remarked, 
seems too rigid, too severe. There is a monotony 
about it, and it puts too great a strain upon atten- 
tion. The periods devoted to physical exercise should 
afford a reHef to the mental powers, and serve to 
recuperate the mental energies instead of further tax- 
ing them. With a proper system, a period of physi- 
cal exercise should in its employment excite in the 
pupil's mind a sense of pleasure. The Swedish sys- 
tem as ordinarily practised does not appear to be 
attended with such results. 

It must not be supposed that apparatus is indispen- 
sable to the carrying out of a system of physical exer- 
cises. It is possible without any apparatus whatever to 



POSTURES AND PHYSICAL EXERCISES 169 

give simple movements that will exercise nearly all the 
muscles of the body. Apparatus, however, has its 
advantages, and if it can be had it will impart diversity 
to the work, and, besides its general serviceableness, will 
give opportunity for special exercises designed to cor- 
rect individual defects. 



CHAPTER IX 
Eyesight and Hearing 

Adequate lighting of the schoolroom not the only requi- 
site — In the first chapter of this book great stress was 
laid upon the proper and sufficient lighting of the school- 
room. The severe tax put upon the eyes by the condi- 
tions of the age in which we live renders it highly 
incumbent upon teachers and school authorities to see 
that every care is taken not to overtax the eyes of pupils 
during the period of school Hfe. It must be admitted 
that up to the present time the care which the impor- 
tance of the matter demands has not been exercised. 
School life impairs more or less the eyesight of 
the greater number of those who pass through the 
grades. Our progressive civiHzation seems destined to 
tax the eyes to a still greater degree in the future than 
even at present, if we may judge from the growing 
demands of the past. The school is therefore culpable 
if it, through disregard or even through neglect, fails 
to use every means and to take every precaution against 
impairing the eyesight of pupils. 

But proper and sufficient lighting of the schoolroom, 
while a most vital matter, is not the only care that must 

170 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 171 

be exercised to prevent impairment of eyesight. The 
size of the letters in the text of school books, if below a 
certain standard, will prove harmful to eyesight. 

Vision impaired by texts printed in too small letters — 
It is not as widely known among teachers as it should be 
that the small letters of the alphabet differ as to their 
relative degree of legibility. The investigations of the 
French oculist Javal, of Dr. Cattell, and of Dr. San- 
ford, in this particular, have brought out a number of 
interesting and valuable facts that have a practical 
bearing on certain phases of school work. 

It is unnecessary in this work to enter upon a descrip- 
tion of the methods used in making these experiments. 
The results are of practical importance, and it is yet to 
be explained why the makers of type and the pubhshers 
of school books have not availed themselves more fully 
of the valuable conclusions of these investigators, 
embodied their suggestions in modifications of certain 
letters, and introduced modified forms in the printing 
of school books. 

It was proved by these investigators that the small 
letters of the alphabet are not equally legible. The 
most legible letters were found to be w, m, q, p, v, j, and f. 
The letters h, r, d, g, k, b, x, I, n, and u were classed fair 
in comparison with the other letters as to legibility, while 
the letters a, t, i, z, 0, c, s, and e were pronounced poor 
as to legibiUty. It was discovered that the letters c, e^ 
and are often taken one for the other, and accord- 



172 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

ingly are easily confusable, and that i tends to be con- 
fused with I, a with s, h with b. The letters g and a are 
mistaken for several different letters, s proves to be 
a hard letter to recognize. A moment's examination of 
the letters h and b will show that they would tend to be 
confused with each other ; for it must be remembered, 
as Javal has shown, that in reading, the eye does not 
examine all parts of each letter, but fixes its point of 
clearest vision so that it runs along a horizontal line, 
which cuts the letters just below the tops of their main 
part, as in the example inserted below. It seems natural 
for the eye to move in a horizontal direction, in order to 
avoid fatiguing movements. The line, therefore, which 
the eye follows is dependent upon the particular shape 
of the printed letters. By running the eye over the 

ic mnr>V\ mrvr<a <aocil-«r re^nA 

example given, the reader will appreciate the truth of 
this statement, and he will also see how much more 
easily the Hnes may be read when only the upper parts 
of the letters are given than when these are removed 
and the lower parts left. It will be readily seen from 
this how an h may be confused with a b. 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 1 73 

A knowledge of the facts in regard to the relative 
legibility of the small letters, and of the possible con- 
fusion of certain of those letters, is of practical value 
to teachers. Such knowledge will enable teachers 
to understand some of the mistakes of substituting one 
letter for another made by children in learning to read 
and spell, and to guard the child against making such 
mistakes. 

Alterations needed in the forms of letters — The 
slight alterations in the form of letters which have been 
proposed by these investigators in order to make read- 
ing less fatiguing to the eye, we believe it would prove 
of value here to state. First, then, if letters are enlarged, 
and, therefore, their different parts increased, the letters 
will thereby be rendered more legible. Further, if what 
have been called the internal spaces of the letters are 
enlarged, it will give the letters greafer breadth in cer- 
tain particulars, and therefore render them more legible. 
If the areas of black and white are each more in a mass, 
the letters are accordingly increased in legibility. These, 
investigators have shown that irradiation also plays quite 
an important part in rendering letters illegible. Some 
explanation of this phenomenon will make the sugges- 
tions of these investigators readily intelligible. If, 
therefore, the reader will hold his lead-pencil across the 
flame of the lamp or gas jet, he will notice that the lead- 
pencil appears very much smaller where it crosses the 
flame. This is due to the fact that the rays of light 



174 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

from the flame are more intense than the light reflected 
from the pencil, and are more overpowering in their 
effect upon the retina, and hence we attribute to the 
intenser rays a greater area than they really cover. 

Another illustration of irradiation, but not so marked 
a one, is afforded by the squares in Fig. 47. The inner 




Fig. 47. 

white square seems larger than it actually is, and the 
inner smaller black square of lesser area than is actu- 
ally the case, due to irradiation, as we have just 
explained. Because, then, of irradiation, the white 
paper upon which black letters are printed seems 
to produce a rounding effect upon the smaller outer 
corners of the letters. Accordingly, it was pointed 
out that the ceriphs at the top and the bottom of 
h, s, and z should be made triangular in shape rather 
than Hnear. It was further suggested that c and 
should be made broader and more open in form, and 
that an earher style of a, for example ^, should be 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 1 75 

used; that the dot of the i should be as high as 
possible above the stem, made heavier, and the thick- 
ness of the stem increased to match. A form of e 
like the following, ^, was recommended, in order to 
avoid the confusion of e and c. The recommendation 
was also made that the projection at the top of 
the f and at the bottom of the j be made heavier 
and longer, and that in u and n the opening be 
widened a little at the top of one and at the bottom 
of the other. As s is a hard letter to see, an excel- 
lent suggestion made by Dr. Sanford was that a form 
of s like the following, J, be used. 

These suggestions have been adopted to some ex- 
tent by type makers, but to nothing like the extent 
which they deserve. Type embodying these recom- 
mendations and suggestions should be made, and our 
school books printed from such type. 

Proper size of type for school books — We are in- 
debted to Dr. Herman Cohn of Breslau for much 
valuable knowledge in regard to the hygiene of the 
eye. He would prohibit the use of books in school 
having letters of less than a certain size. He demands 
that the height of the n shall be at least 1.5 mm. and 
its down stroke .25 mm. thick, any type smaller than 
this being injurious to the eyes, Cohn also demands 
that the smallest distance permissible between the 
non-loop letters of different Hues, that is, the inter- 
lineage, shall be 2.5 mm. By reading the following 



176 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

lines, in the same size of type, one specimen being un- 
leaded and the other leaded, it will be seen that there 
is a great difference in legibility, the leaded type, or 
that of wider interlineage, being the more easily read, 
and, therefore, less fatiguing to the eye. 

It illustrates in an exceedingly novel and perfect man- 
ner, not only the ordinary facts of the subject, but also 
such truths and principles of related sciences as are 
indispensable to an inteUigent knowledge of this im- 
portant branch of education. It is founded on rational 

It illustrates in an exceedingly novel and perfect man- 
ner, not only the ordinary facts of the subject, but also 
such truths and principles of related sciences as are 
indispensable to an intelligent knowledge of this im- 
portant branch of education. It is founded on rational 

Cohn also makes an important recommendation in 
relation to the length of the line. The shorter the 
line, the less fatigue it produces. A short line is 
easier to read because the eyes have to be moved 
less. As the eyes are focussed for the ends of the 
line, there is, with a long line, a stronger accommoda- 
tion for the middle of the line. The greatest length 
of line which Cohn would permit is 10 cm. (4 
inches). 

Measurement of the size of the letters of school 
books now in use reveals the fact that there are not 
only many whole books printed in too small letters, 
but also a very great number of books, each having 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 1 77 

many parts printed in letters so small that the books 
must prove extremely injurious to the eyes of pupils 
who use them. Furthermore, the illumination in the 
greater number of our schoolhouses, on cloudy days 
and overcast days, falls so far below what is needful, 
that it is not sufficient that the size of letters in school 
books should just meet the requirements set forth by 
Cohn. Even in using books which just meet Cohn's 
requirements, myopia is rapidly increased on all days 
when the illumination of the schoolroom is deficient. 
There are many school books issued in which the 
type is 1.6 mm. with leading 3.5 mm. Such books 
are to be preferred to those in which the type just 
reaches the requirements of Cohn. Principals, teach- 
ers, and school superintendents should possess a milli- 
meter measure and a magnifying glass, and should 
subject every book presented for their examination to a 
test to determine whether the size of the letters and the 
width of the leading are of such dimensions as will 
not prove injurious to the eyes of children. If every 
book, no matter what its merits, were rejected if its 
type were too small, the makers of such books would 
very quickly bring out new editions with a proper size 
of type. In the lower grades, the type in which books 
are printed should be much larger than the smallest 
permissible size allowed by Cohn. For the first year 
the size of type should be at least 2.6 mm. and the 
width of leading 4.5 mm. as shown in this example: — 



178 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

Then there is a turn in the road. 
The long train runs over the bridge 
and swings round behind a hill. 

The children cannot see it now. 

For the second and the third year, the letters should 
not be smaller than 2 mm., with a leading of 4 mm. 
Some of the more carefully made books for the second ii 
and the third years are printed in letters of this size, t' 
as shown in the following example : — 

She must climb the tree. She held on, 
first to one branch and then to another, and 
tried to reach the golden plums. Her hands, 
her face, and her feet were scratched and torn 
by the thorns. Try as hard as she could, she 

For the fourth year, the letters should be at least 1.8 
mm., with leading 3.6 mm., as follows : — 

On the way down, an Indian who was in a canoe 
stole something from the ship. One of the crew saw 
the Indian commit the theft, and, picking up a giin, 
shot and killed him. This made the other Indians 
very angry and Hudson had several fights with them. 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 1 79 

Griffing and Franz, in their investigations into read- 
ing, state that fatigue increases rapidly even before the 
size of the type becomes as small as 1.5 mm. They also 
say that additional leading or spacing between the lines 
is desirable. It is therefore warrantable to hold that 
for all years above the fourth year or grade the smallest 
size of letters allowable in books is 1.6 mm., and the 
narrowest leading 3 mm. 

Color and surface of paper for school books — The kind 
of paper used in text-books is of importance. A paper 
that is grayish in tone is to be avoided, because it ab- 
sorbs light to such a degree that the contrast between 
the black color of the letters and the gray of the paper 
is so decreased that the legibility of the letters is consid- 
erably lessened. A flat, unreflecting surface is neces- 
sary for school books. Books printed on glossy paper 
reflect light and are therefore injurious to eyesight. 
Griffing and Franz pronounce yellow paper unfavorable 
for reading. 

The size of writing on the blackboard — Another 
source of strain upon the eyes of pupils is to be found 
in the writing displayed on blackboards. Blackboards 
are used to a very large extent for writing down 
examples, exercises, and questions, which are to be 
copied by pupils, or which they must read in recitation. 
It will be seen, from what has been said upon irradia- 
tion, that, other things being equal, a white mark on 
a black surface has an advantage over a black mark 



l80 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

on a white surface. The letters written with crayon 
on the blackboard would therefore seem to possess 
an advantage as to legibility over the same letters 
printed in black on a white ground. Other factors, 
however, come in to affect the conditions. Black- 
boards, especially if of slate, are decidedly grayish in 
color, and the small particles of crayon dust which 
cling to boards after being cleaned with an eraser ren- 
der them a still lighter gray. It is evident, then, that 
we have not a strong white on a ground of strong 
black, but instead a white upon a grayish ground. 
The size of the writing on the blackboard becomes, 
therefore, a very important matter, if proper precau- 
tion is to be taken against all deteriorating influences 
upon the eyes of pupils. If we take 1.5 mm. a^the 
smallest type permissible in school books, and remem- 
ber the demands of oculists that no book should come 
closer to the eye in reading than 12 in., it is an easy 
matter to calculate what should be the size of the let- 
ters written on the blackboard, in order that they may 
be seen without undue strain upon the eyes of a pupil 
sitting in the last row of seats in the standard school- 
room. Having, then, the board as thoroughly cleaned 
as possible with erasers that are free from accum-u- 
lated crayon dust, the non-loop script letters should be 
not less than if in. in height for the upper grammar 
grades. For children in the primary grades, the size 
of the non-loop letters should be much larger than 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING l8l 

this. All writing on the blackboard should be in the 
vertical round hand, because of its greater legibility. 

The use of slates injurious — It will be seen from what 
has been said in relation to blackboards that slates are 
extremely injurious to the eyes. Experiments have been 
made testing the legibility of letters written on the slate 
and letters of the same size written with pen and ink on 
ordinary white paper, and the difference in legibility has 
been found to be as great as 3 to 4. When in addition 
to this we remember that slates become greasy, it will be 
seen what a tax the use of slates entails upon the eye. 
It is not to be wondered at, then, that some oculists have 
emphatically demanded the exclusion of slates from the 
schoolroom. 

Copy-books — Copy-books may also be a source of 
i strain upon the eyes. The paper of copy-books should 
have the least possible gloss, and the books should have 
the least possible ruling. The length of the lines of the 
copy-book should not be greater in all of the lower grades 
than 5^ in. Copy-books should have no other ruling 
than the base line, and this should be printed, as in many 
of the English copy-books, because the color of ruled 
lines is so faint as to be a source of fatigue to the eyes. 

Color of writing ink — The color of the ink used in 
writing must also be looked after, if we would lessen the 
factors that produce visual fatigue. Ink should leave a 
jet-black mark as soon as it touches the paper, and all 
black inks that are bluish or purplish or greenish in shade 



1 82 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

when first used should be excluded from the school- 
room. Precaution should be exercised to see that the 
ink is not watered by the janitor, as is frequently the 
case, and thus rendered pale. Much labor will have to 
be expended to care for ink wells properly, and to keep 
the ink in proper liquid condition, especially in the dry 
air of our schoolrooms. Labor and care in this matter 
cannot be avoided. 

Postures — Bad postures in reading^and writing affect 
seriously the eyesight. The pupil should sit erect in 
reading and in writing. His book should not come 
nearer the eye than 12 in. 

Too much writing imposed on pupils — Another great 
factor in impairing the eyesight of pupils is found in the 
excessive amount of writing which is imposed upon chil- 
dren in school. There can be no question that there is 
entirely too much written work required in our schools. 
Much of it is done as seat work, and serves mainly the 
purpose of keeping the child employed, a purpose which 
is exceedingly reprehensible in itself, and a practice 
extremely uncomplimentary to the inventive power of 
teachers as to educative ways and means. As little read- 
ing and writing as possible should be given the child 
under ten years of age. All home lessons and exercises i 
which require to be wrought out or accomplished by | 
gas or lamp light are to be withheld from children below j 
eleven years of age. \ 

Use of fine maps — Let it be further remembered that I 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 1 83 

the search for places on maps that contain many names 
in fine print, and the drawing of maps in fine detail, are 
exceedingly injurious to the eyes. 

Duty of parents — Parents must assist the school in its 
efforts for normal conditions for eye work, and should 
have a close scrutiny over children at home to prevent 
them from reading at night or in the waning light at the 
end of the day. Children when they have learned to 
read will need to be closely watched in this particular. 
They have little apprehension of the fatigue of their 
eyes, and frequently when they are partly aware of 
this the interest in the book makes them oblivious to 
the strain that they are putting upon their eyes. 

Sewing — Needlework by pupils is another source of 
danger to eyes, and exercises in needlework are to be 
allowed only when the illumination is the very strongest, 
and to those pupils whose eyes are strong. All fine 
needlework is to be excluded. Sewing with black 
thread on black cloth is especially to be avoided. 

Tests to determine roughly amount of illumination — 
We have alluded several times in this book to the fact 
that schoolrooms that are well illuminated on bright days 
are too often deficient in illumination on dark days. 
Under such conditions the teacher must exercise great 
care to see that on days when the illumination is insuffi- 
cient all fine work with the eyes, such as would be per- 
missible on bright days, is avoided. Two tests are sug- 
gested by which the teacher may determine what the 



1 84 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

illumination is, and whether it is sufficient for certain 
kinds of work, as well as to determine whether pupils 
are sitting in a part of the room that is not sufficiently 
illuminated. The first test is that suggested by the 
Medical Record of Strasburg. According to the 
Record, a pupil should be able to read at 12 in. 
distance, and without strain, diamond type. For 
example : — 

He went on up the river untU the place w»i rewhed where Albany now 
standB. Here the little " Half Moon " was anchored. Indians eame 
running down to the shore in wonder at the sight of the strange Tessel. 
They brought with them strings of beaver sldns, which they gave Hudson 
in exchange for pieces of gold lace, glass beads, and other trinkets. 
Hudson was quick to see the importance of this fur trade, and took 
baek with him many valuable furs. Uere the stream had become nar- 
row, and was so shallow th:it the captain feared his vessel might run 
aground. He knew at last that the water was a river and not a strait, 
and that he was not likely to find here a passage to China. 80 Hudson, 
turning back, started down the river. 

If pupils are in a part of the room where they cannot 
read the above lines at 12 in. distance without apparent 
strain, the illumination is dangerously low. 

The second test is using a line of Cohn's Test Type 
(Fig. 48). 

E S li EO 

Fig. 48. 

If the pupil at 20 ft. distance is unable to make out 
the direction in which the E's open, the illumination is 
so low as not to permit the use of the eyes on text-book 
or in writing. 

Artificial light — The hygienic requisites for arti- 
ficial lighting of schoolrooms are sufficient illumina- 




EYESIGHT AND HEARING 1 8$ 

tion, steadiness, absence of color tending to produce 
visual fatigue, and non- vitiation of the air. It is 
claimed that these requisites are more completely 
met by a certain form of arc light used in the lecture 
rooms of some of the German universities than by 
any other kind of illumination. This form of arc 
light is so constructed that the direct rays from the 
arc do not fall upon the desk. A reflector surrounds 
the arc and all the lower rays are reflected to vari- 
ous parts of the ceiling and are here combined with 
the upper rays of the arc. In this way the light 
falls well diffused, it being reflected from all parts 
of the ceiling, which, of course, is white in color. 
This diffusion of light lessens the intensity of 
shadows which would be produced by the direct rays 
of the arc. The illumination from this kind of arc 
light is very steady. It is not likely, however, to be 
much used in this country for several reasons. In 
the first place, its mechanical construction and the 
attention this requires would not commend it to 
American mechanical approval. Further, arc light 
wiring is not favored in school buildings; and lastly, 
the recent appearance of prismatic globes, constructed 
according to the laws of geometrical optics, offers a 
simpler and more economical means of diffusing and 
distributing light. 

The incandescent electric light is quite widely used 
in schools for artificial illumination. One disadvan- 



1 86 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

tage of this light is its yellow color. The yellow 
rays falling on the paper give to this a yellowish 
tone, thus decreasing the contrast between the letters 
and the surrounding parts of the page, and causing 
the print to fall off somewhat in degree of legi- 
bility. According to Griffing and Franz, yellow paper 
is unfavorable for reading, and yellow light, causing 
the paper to appear yellow, must also be a source of 
fatigue. 

It is to be further noted that the glowing film of 
the incandescent electric light, when it comes across 
the line of vision, is extremely fatiguing to the eye. 
The reflection, moreover, of the glowing film from 
the glass bulb throws a peculiar shadow on paper or 
page of book under it, which is harmful in a high 
degree to eyesight. A just regard for the eye 
requires, therefore, that the glowing film of the 
incandescent light should in some way be shielded. 
Economy dictates that whatever shield is used should 
not appreciably decrease the illuminating power of 
the light. When shielded with ground glass or the 
various kinds of translucent shades, the illumination 
is largely reduced, dependent upon the kind of shade. 
When shielded, therefore, a greater number of incan- 
descent bulbs would need to be supplied in order to 
afford sufficient illumination. 

The Holophane glass globes possess the scientific 
merits of so distributing and diffusing the light as to 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 



187 



increase its effectiveness at the points most needed, 
namely, those below the horizontal. By inspection of 
the curves of distribution in the accompanying diagram, 

90° 7i9° eiyi 5d° 45^ 




Fig. 49, the amount of light transmitted and distrib- 
uted by a Holophane globe as compared with a bare 
incandescent bulb, with a ground glass globe, and 
with an opal globe, is shown. The intensity of the 



1 88 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

light given out at the horizontal is called lOO. The 
intensities at different angles of distribution are readily 
seen : for instance, at 56° from the vertical, the 
intensity of the light transmitted by a Holophane 
globe is 103 in comparison with 70 for the unshielded 
bulb, 57 for ground glass globe, and 48 for opal 
globe. These intensities, established by photometric 
measurements, show the economy and effectiveness of 
this kind of prismatic globe. 

For a schoolroom where incandescent electric light 
is employed, the most effective illumination may be 
secured by using the form of Holophane globe shown 
in Fig. 50, and placing this as close to the ceiling as 
the fixture will permit. Incandescent electric bulbs 
usually depend from the ceiling 3 or 4 ft. With the 
use of the Holophane, the bulb would need to be 
brought very much nearer the ceiling. 

In Chap. IV, we have stated that a gas jet burning 
4 ft. an hour would consume the oxygen from 21 cu. 
ft. of air, besides the impurities which it would dis- 
seminate in the air. In rooms, therefore, not thor- 
oughly ventilated, the avoidance of further vitiation 
of the air by the use of electric light is of very great 
importance. 

In most schools, however, gas light is still used 
for artificial illumination, not only in evening schools, 
but also in day schools during the fall and winter 
months in many rooms where the proximity of other 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 1 89 

buildings and the small amount of transparent glass 
surface render the room so dark that classwork would 
be impossible without artificial illumination. The 
ordinary gas flame gives a yellow light, it does not 
burn steadily, and in these respects produces illumi- 
nation unfavorable for the eye. If gas must be used 
for artificial illumination, the color of the light from 
it may be changed and the unsteadiness of the 
flame remedied, by the use of a round burner with 
an incandescent mantle, known as the Welsbach burner. 
This burner consumes less gas than the flat flame and 
emits a light of much greater intensity. At the same 
time it has not the objectionable yellow color. The 
light is white possessing a faint greenish tinge. This 
ought not to be objectionable for schoolroom illumina- 
tion, but it may be neutralized by substituting for the 
ordinary glass chimney a rose-colored one. 

A stronger objection to the unshielded Welsbach 
burner may be entered than that already made against 
the bare bulb of the incandescent electric light. The 
intense light of the incandescent mantle must be 
shielded as an absolutely necessary protection to the 
eyes of pupils. 

The Holophane glass globes, by the refractive prop- 
erties of their prismatic ribbings, completely hide the 
incandescent mantle, and appear themselves to be 
the source of a soft, diffused Ught. The accompany- 
ing cut, Fig. 51, made from photographs, shows not 



1 90 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 



only the remarkable qualities of these globes in this 
particular, but also gives a comparison with other 
kinds of globes used to soften the glare of an incan- 
descent mantle. 

The distribution of the light and its effectiveness 
below the horizontal attained by covering a Welsbach 
burner with a Holophane globe is shown in Fig. 52, 




Fig. 52. 

the numbers at the end of the radiate lines indicating 
the degree of candle power ; the dotted lines repre- 
senting the ordinary Welsbach burner, the solid lines 
the burner covered by the proper form of the Holo- 
phane globe. The proper form for schoolrooms fitted 
with ordinary dependent inverted T gas jets is shown 
in Fig. 53. 

If the source of illumination is only the ordinary 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 19I 

flat gas flame, a proper shape of Holophane globe will 
increase greatly the effectiveness of the illumination of 
the room by directing the greater part of the light 
downward upon the desks, and will also impart by its 
diffusion a greater steadiness of illumination. 

In artificial illumination of schoolrooms, care must 
be exercised that the light is not placed too near the 
eye, and also that it is far enough above the desks 
so that the warm rays from the light will not heat 
the head of the pupil, as this is injurious. 

How to test the eyesight — No teacher should go 
on day after day giving instruction to children and 
assigning tasks to them without knowing, even though 
roughly, whether any number of those in the class are 
suffering from the common defects of vision. Through 
a lack of knowledge in this respect on the teacher's 
part a pupil may be seated where the illumination 
is inadequate for him, or tasks may be required of 
him that might have been lessened, and thus a rapid 
deterioration of his vision ensue. Tests to ascertain 
the most common defects of vision may now be so 
easily made that there is no ground of excuse for 
any teacher's not knowing and making them. One 
State now requires that such tests shall be made 
once a year. Children who are found to be short- 
sighted should be seated near the front of the room, 
where it will be least taxing for them to see what 
is placed on the blackboard. Childfen are often taken 



192 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

to task for mistakes and regarded as dull, when the 
cause is frequently want of visual power. 

Every child's eyesight should be tested as soon 
after entering school in the fall as possible. Defects 
either of short sight or long sight should be at once 
reported to the parents, in order that an examination 
by an ocuhst may be sought and proper glasses pro- 
vided. The tests recommended below, it must be 
remembered, will reveal only the presence of com- 
mon defects; the precise nature of the defect must 
be determined by an ocuhst. 

At the end of this book. Fig. 60, will be found four 
lines of letters of different sizes. These are taken 
from Snellen's Test Letters, now generally used and 
therefore possessing the advantage that records made 
with them may be easily compared. Cut out the 
sheet, and paste it smoothly on a piece of cardboard, 
as this will afford the most convenient and reUable 
way of making tests. By reference to the sheet, it 
will be seen that each row of letters has a certain 
number of feet marked below it. This number indi- 
cates the distance at which the particular letter can 
be read by the norinal eye. Thus the largest letters 
have 60 ft. marked underneath them, which indicates 
that these letters should be easily seen 60 ft. away. 
The smallest row has 20 ft. printed underneath it, 
indicating that these letters should be easily read at 
a distance of 20 ft. 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 1 93 

To test for acuteness of vision the letters should 
be hung on the wall in a good light, and on a level 
with the pupil's eyes. The illumination of the card 
should be equal to that which has been required for 
the standard schoolroom. Measure 20 ft. perpendicu- 
larly out from the wall on which the card hangs, 
and draw a line upon the floor. Let each child who 
is to be tested stand with his toes to this mark. 
Then direct him to read the letters row by row, 
beginning with the upper row. Each eye is to be 
tested separately, and the right eye should be tested 
first. The pupil should hold a piece of cardboard 
in front of the eye that is not being tested, in order 
to obstruct its vision. Care must be taken not to 
press against the eye which is not being tested, with 
the cardboard. The vision of each eye is to be 
recorded separately. If the pupil reads the last line 
correctly, then his vision is to be regarded as normal, 
and it is recorded as R. V. = f-g-. In this record the 
numerator represents the distance that the types are 
away from the eye of the pupil, and the denominator 
20 represents the distance at which the normal eye 
should see the last row. If the pupil is able to see 
only the row marked 30 ft., then the record would 
read R. V. = |^. If the third row from the bottom, 
then the record would read R. V. = ||-. If it should 
be found in testing the left eye that the record reads 
L. V. = f-^, it will be seen that the left eye is short- 



194 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

sighted, and that we have an impairment of vision 
here which should be remedied, if the pupil is to be 
put in a condition to use his eyes with the least pos- 
sible strain. When it is found that the vision of the 
pupil equals |-§-, then this condition should be at once 
reported to parents or guardian, in order that expert 
advice may be taken, and proper means supplied for 
obviating the defect. A record of the test made upon 
each child should be kept in a small book from year 
to year, so that the record of previous tests may be 
compared with the last test, in order to learn v/hether, 
if defects existed, they are becoming worse. For 
example: Mary Rogers, October, 1899, R. V. = |^, 
L. V. = If Willie Rose, R. V. =|f L. V. = f^. 

Some children are long-sighted, but this is not 
so easily detected, owing to "active power of accom- 
modation " in children. The oculist suspends the 
power of accommodation by dropping atrophine into 
the eye, and is then enabled to determine accurately 
how much the eye is far-sighted. This, however, 
could not be done by a teacher, and his only means 
for detecting far-sightedness is in placing the pupil 
at a greater distance from the smallest size of type 
than 20. ft. In testing pupils, a case of long-sighted- 
ness might at first be regarded as short-sightedness, 
because the pupil would be unable to make out the 
letters of the lowest line at 20 ft. distance. There 
are some conditions of the eye which, if closely 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 1 95 

observed by the teacher, will aid him in detecting 
cases of long sight. These conditions are redness of 
the eyes, which renders them weak and watery in 
appearance ; the edges of the eyelids are frequently 
covered with a coating of dry matter. Pupils who 
have long-sight are likely to complain of headaches 
after protracted and close use of the eyes. 

A scale devised by Monoyer of Paris, containing 
a series of letters of different sizes, is recommended 
by some for testing the eyes. This scale has been 
republished by Ginn & Company, Boston. It has the 
advantage of being mounted on cardboard with full 
and clear directions for making the tests printed on 
the back of the card. 

How to test hearing — If we are to educate children, 
it is supremely wise to know as many of their 
physical defects as possible, and especially is this true 
as regards defects of the two most important avenues 
of sense, the eye and the ear ; for only by means of 
this knowledge can the teacher work intelligently and 
avoid unnecessary strain on the part of the pupil and 
waste of effort on his own part. Careful investiga- 
tions point to the broad fact that about twenty per 
cent of school children possess some defect of hear- 
ing, either in one or in both ears. It will be seen 
that the child of average ability who has some unde- 
tected defect of hearing will frequently be done an 
injustice, and rated as dull or inattentive, not through 



196 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

any fault of his own, but because of a lack of 
knowledge on the part of the teacher of the true 
cause. 

In urging that there shall be a test of vision and 
a test of hearing of every pupil at least once a year, 
the objection will be met with that teachers are already 
overburdened with what is required of them, that 
they are overtaxed by the conditions which are im- 
posed upon them. As a rule this is true, and relief 
should certainly be afforded. There are two ways in 
which this may be done. First, a smaller number of 
pupils should be assigned each teacher, never to ex- 
ceed forty. Second, better hygienic conditions in the 
schoolroom should be provided, especially in regard 
to thorough ventilation. With such relief afforded, 
there would be opportunity to attend to such important 
matters as testing the vision and hearing of pupils. 

Of course records of the eyesight and hearing of 
pupils should come to the teacher from the medical 
inspectors of schools. Very few schools, however, have 
made any provision for medical inspection. Such 
inspection is a matter of the future, and v/ill come in 
time. Meanwhile, with our knowledge of how these 
tests should be made and the necessity of them, there 
is no other way than for the teacher to make them. 
But help may be secured in this particular by obtain- 
ing the aid of the more intelligent pupils in the higher 
grades. 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 



197 



Of all the tests which have been employed in the 
various experiments for detecting defects of hearing, 
there are perhaps but two that are within the command 
of teachers in general. These are the test by means 
of a watch, and the test by means of whispering. In 
testing the pupils by the first means, an ordinary 
watch may be used. If a stop watch is available, 
it is preferable to an ordinary watch, as it can be 
stopped and started while being held in the hand. 
A tape line fastened at one end of the room and 
running down the aisle may be suspended from two 
and one-half to four and one-half feet above the floor, 
according to the height of the pupils to be tested. 
The numbers on the tape line should read away from 
the pupil who is being tested. He should stand back 
to the one making the test, and at the end of the tape 
line. If a tape line is not at hand, then the distance 
can be measured down the aisle on the floor in feet. 
The pupil is to close his eyes and to close the ear 
i that is not being tested, either by holding a piece of 
j cloth over the ear or by stopping the ear thoroughly 
with sanitary cotton. A handkerchief is not large and 
thick enough for this purpose. The teacher begins at 
I a distance beyond the pupil's hearing and approaches 
j him, and the pupil signifies when he can hear the watch 
and when he cannot. The watch should be moved 
i back and forth upon the line. Care must be exercised 
i not to touch the line with the watch, as this might 



198 SCHOOL HYGIENE I 

i 

act as a conductor and vitiate, to some extent, the i 

test. Five feet may be put down as a provisional ' 

distance for long hearing of the ticking of a watch, j 

It will be remembered, however, that this is to be I 

taken only tentatively, as conditions of the room so | 

far as outside noises are concerned, and the difference 1 

in the ticking of watches, will have to be taken into , 

consideration. The normal distance can be easily but j 

roughly determined by the teacher by averaging the | 

records of the various tests made. 

The second method, that of whispering, can be ! 

used under substantially the same conditions which j 

have been prescribed for the watch method, with the | 

exception that the distance between the pupil and ; 

the teacher will need to be made much greater. The j 

teacher whispers various numbers; 10, 30, 23, 33, 37, 28, 1 

are good combinations. Of course, the teacher must I 

seek to whisper always with the same intensity, and j 

the whispering must be done with expiring breath and I 

not with inspiring. The distances at which pupils j 

can hear must be collated and the normal distance | 

determined from the records. After the determination ' 

of this, it is an easy matter to pick out those who do ' 

not hear from those who hear at the shorter or normal | 

distance. Of course it is understood that each ear i 

is to be tested separately and a record made. i 

The audiometer — The foregoing methods, however, | 

are crude, and demand much time and patience. An , 



EYESIGHT AND HEARING 1 99 

audiometer recently perfected by Professor Seashore of 
Iowa University now affords a quick and scientific 
means of testing hearing. 

The instrument consists of a telephone receiver so 
arranged that when held to the ear a series of clicks 
may be produced by the manipulation of an electric 
current of different strengths. The instrument is so 
graduated that the sound of the cHcks may be made to 
vary by the smallest perceptible difference, the differ- 
ence being measured by the strength of the current 
used. The degree of auditory power, it will there- 
fore be seen, is determined according to an arbitrary 
scale. The norm is reached by taking that point in 
the scale of each instrument which has the largest 
number of records set down to it after testing the ears 
of a great many average persons. 

The hearing of several thousand children in the 
Chicago schools has lately been tested with this audi- 
ometer under the direction of Supt. F. W. Smedley. 
From these tests the conclusions are drawn that about 
one-sixth of all pupils are so defective in hearing in 
both ears as to interfere seriously with their progress in 
the oral parts of teaching, and that about one-sixth are 
so defective in one ear or the other as to show the 
necessity of giving them a seat on the proper side of 
the teacher. 



CHAPTER X 
Handwriting 

Position in writing productive of spinal curvature — It 

is somewhat more than two decades since it was ascer- 
tained by physicians in Germany that as pupils advanced 
through the various school years there was an increased 
tendency to curvature of the spine, and that the number 
of cases among girls was much greater than among boys, 
about four times as many cases being found in girls as 
in boys. The establishment of this fact was followed 
by observations to determine what conditions in school 
life might be its cause. Very early in their observations 
physicians were impressed with the idea that the posi- 
tion assumed by children during the writing exercises 
tended in itself to produce curvature of the spine, the 
curve being convex toward the right. One may easily 
satisfy himself by observation that such a conclusion 
would naturally and inevitably arise in the minds of phy- 
sicians interested in ascertaining the cause of the curva- 
ture, provided one stand at the back of a schoolroom and 
notice the postures into which children fall during the 
writing exercises. Investigations were accordingly un- 
dertaken to determine the hygiene of writing. These 



HANDWRITING 20I 

were protracted over a long period. They attracted 
attention in America in 1892, and since that time inves- 
tigations and tests have been made, which not only con- 
firm conclusions reached in Germany, but also contribute 
new knowledge on the hygiene of writing. 

There is not space in the present work to give an 
account of these investigations. We shall be obliged, 
therefore, to limit ourselves to a general statement of 
the conclusions arrived at in regard to writing. We 
shall then set forth a new method of teaching writing — 
a method that is now giving results much more satis- 
factory than those attained by any previous method. 
It may, however, be remarked that, notwithstanding all 
past observations, the hygiene of writing still affords 
ground for much careful investigation. 

The results of the experiments and the tests made 
are unquestionably in favor of vertical script and the 
postures and freedom which necessarily go with the ver- 
tical or upright script. The differences in form between 
the vertical and slanting scripts are shown in the follow- 
ing examples : 



r The first example is the Vertical ; the second the 
j Spencerian, with long loops to the letters and with the 
I down strokes of the letters having a slope of 52°. 



202 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 




Fig. 54. 



The employment of the slanting script in teaching 
pupils the use of the pen conduces to curvature of the 

spine and imposes a 
strain upon the eyes 
which is injurious. In 
the first place, the 
writing-master's con- 
ventional way of hold- 
ing the pen, which is 
shown in Figs. 54 and 
55, inevitably results in a shifting of the copy-book 
or writing materials more or less to one side, usually 
making an oblique angle with the back edge of the 
desk. In learning to write the pupil must, of course, 
see what he is trying 
to write, and at the 
same time be able to 
look for some dis- 
tance along the line i 
on which he is trying 
to write. Let it be re- 
membered also that the 




Fig. 55. 



learner, because of inability to coordinate his muscles 
easily, grasps the penholder as close to the pen as pOvS- 
sible. With the pen so held, the paper must naturally 
shift to the right and take meanwhile an oblique position 
to expose a sufficient length of line beyond the hand, in 
order to guide the pupil in bringing the letters he is 



HANDWRITING 203 

forming down to the line. Let the reader hold his pen 
in this manner and place the paper directly in front of 
him, and he will discover that in order to see what he is 
writing he must either drop his head to the left and a 
little forward, or move the paper to the right, placing it 
obliquely to the back edge of the desk. This position of 
the paper in writing raises the right shoulder, while the 
head drops over more or less to the left. In the second 
place, the left hand under these conditions is given little 
muscular activity, none whatever requiring much co- 
ordination. There is, therefore, Httle consumption of 
muscular energy in the left hand and arm, and as a 
consequence of these conditions the left arm drops 
down or is brought nearer the side, thus reenforcing the 
bend of the spine to the left. 

The oblique central position and the imaginary base 
line — In one of the early investigations into the 
hygiene of writing, it was held that placing the copy- 
book directly in front, but turned obliquely to the back 
edge of the desk, as illustrated in Fig. 54; would enable 
children to sit in a proper position in writing, and yet 
use sloping script. It was known at that time that 
the eye sees vertical and horizontal lines easily, as com- 
pared with oblique lines, which it sees with more or 
less difficulty. In other words, it was known that 
oblique lines are more taxing to the eye than vertical 
or horizontal lines, 

It was therefore asserted that with the copy-book in 



^' 



204 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 




Fig. 56. 



HANDWRITING 205 

the oblique central position, the down strokes of the 
pen would be perpendicular to an imaginary line pro- 
jected upon the paper and called the line of direction. 
This projected line was conceived to be formed by 
the intersection with the page of the copy-book of a 
plane joining the central points of the pupil's two 
eyes. This imaginary line cut the page as shown by 
the dotted line in Fig. 56. It will be seen that the 
down strokes of the pen, as shown by the script letters 
in the figure, would be perpendicular to this imaginary 
line, but the writing would be sloping with regard to 
the ruled lines of the copy-book. 

The test of this theory in actual schoolroom prac- 
tice was made, but the dropping of the head to the 
left and the bending of the spine in the writing exer- 
cises still continued. 

Had certain facts since brought to light by inves- 
tigations in America been known, this theory of the 
oblique central position of copy-book, with the down 
strokes of the pen perpendicular to an imaginary base 
line, would not have figured so prominently in the 
controversy that waged furiously during the protracted 
investigations into the hygiene of writing. Its mis- 
leading features would quickly have been detected. 
The facts alluded to are these. In learning to write, 
the pupil writes ** uphill," so to speak ; that is, the 
writing tends to diverge from the ruled line, for the 
reason that as the hand is moved away from one in 



206 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

writing, the arm is straightening and, therefore, length- 
ening, caused by the increase of the angle made at the 
elbow by the forearm and the upper arm. The coor- 
dination of muscles necessary while writing, in order 
to draw the elbow constantly back as the angle opens, 
is a most difficult one to acquire, and is acquired later 
than the coordination of the muscles to produce merely 
the form of the letters. 

The effort to overcome this divergence of his writ- 
ing from the line causes the learner to give very close 
attention to the ruled line. In other words, his eye 
is constantly returning to the ruled line in order to 
bring his writing down to it. The line, then, is an 
object of very close attention to the eye. With the 
position of the copy-book we are speaking of, namely, 
the oblique central position, the lines of the copy-book 
are oblique to the eye. Since the eye sees horizontal 
lines easier than it does oblique lines, and since the 
eyes must be constantly noting the line of the copy- 
book, the head naturally bends over to the left to 
bring the image of the ruled line as near as possible 
into the horizontal plane of sight. 

The straight central position — On the other hand, a 
position known as the straight central position of the 
copy-book, as shown in Fig. 57, with the pupil sitting 
squarely in front of the book, and with the forearms 
placed equally on the desk, with the elbows at an 
equal distance from the pupil's side, was strongly advo- 



HANDWRITING 



207 




■ ■ — ■ J - 



Fig. 57. 



208 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

cated and defended, and introduced in several schools. 
Actual tests with the straight central position of the 
copy-book, prolonged and repeated, showed that the 
straight central position, with proper holding of 
the pen, enabled pupils to maintain good postures in 
writing when using the vertical script. 

The reasons in favor of vertical script — The reasons 
in favor of vertical writing, adduced as the outcome 
of the investigations which extended over a somewhat 
long period of years, are, first, that it is the natural 
way of writing, as children, when they begin to write, 
write vertically. It is a fact well known to all first- 
year teachers that continual effort must be put forth 
to make the child acquire a slant to his writing. 
Second, that the vertical hand is easier for the eyes, 
as the eye sees vertical and horizontal lines with less 
difficulty than oblique lines. The upright script, be- 
cause it is composed of vertical instead of oblique 
lines, has greater legibility, and is, therefore, less tax- 
ing upon the eye of the writer and the eye of the 
reader than slanting script. Third, that an unequal 
accommodation of the two eyes is not imposed upon 
the pupil as is the case in the use of slanting script. 
Fourth, that vertical script is a result arising naturally 
and necessarily out of maintaining a symmetrical and 
easy position of the body in writing — a position not 
conducive to lateral curvature of the spine. 

Rules to be observed in teaching vertical script — 



HANDWRITING 209 

There are certain rules to be observed in teaching ver- 
tical writing, and if these are neglected, vertical writ- 
ing possesses but two advantages from the hygienic 
point of view. First, it is much more legible than 
the sloping hand, and, therefore, less taxing upon the 
eyes ; second, the pupil seems to have less difficulty 
in conceiving the form of the letters and in learning 
to coordinate his muscles so as to produce the forms. 

Vertical writing, it must be understood, is not simply 
a reform in the shape of the letters by which the down 
strokes are vertical, the letters more round, and the 
loops of the letters shorter, instead of the down strokes 
being oblique, the curves sharper, and the loops of 
letters longer ; but it is. primarily a reform of posture 
at the desk and of holding the pen, and that when 
the pupil who is learning to write sits in proper pos- 
ture, and holds the pen correctly, the down strokes 
of his writing are naturally vertical. Briefly stated, it J 
is correct posture, and with this, as a necessary con-| 
sequence, the vertical script. 

In several schools in England and Scotland, the 
writer has seen hundreds of pupils writing a large, 
round, fine, vertical hand, and in doing so, assuming 
postures that were as productive in giving a curvature 
to the spine as if the pupils had been writing the 
slanting script. 

The first rule for vertical writing is that the page of 
the copy-book is to be placed directly in front of the 



210 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

pupil and parallel to the edge of the desk nearest the 
pupil, as shown in Fig. 57. The paper must not be 
placed the least distance to one side, but directly in 
front, so that the plane in which the median line of the 
body lies will cut the paper perpendicular to its lower 
edge in two equal parts. The writing paper must not be 
over 5j in. in width. 

Second, the penholder is to be held so that the inside 
of the hand may be seen, the holder lying between the 
upper joint of the thumb and index finger. The point 
of the pen should be at least an inch and a half below 
the end of the second finger. Fig. 58 shows the correct 
way of holding the pen, while Fig. 54 shows the conven- 
tional way of the writing-master. 

So much misconception and harmful error exist as to 
how the pen should be held in vertical writing, and so 
unsatisfactory results have in a great number of instances 
attended the adoption of vertical script because of this 
error, that we call especial attention to the matter here. 

Proper way of holding the pen in vertical writing — 
An English advocate of vertical writing gives in his 
book the conventional way, as shown in Fig. 54. For 
reasons which have been set forth on p. 202, it will be 
seen that this way cannot be used and good posture 
maintained. It is, moreover, not the manner of hold- 
ing the pen recommended by the German physicians 
to whom we owe so much for the careful and thorough 
investigations which instituted a reform in hand- 




Fig. 58. 




Fig. 59. 



HANDWRITING 211 

writing. Other reasons, moreover, may be adduced 
against the conventional way of holding the pen. It is 
very tiresome and difficult, so much so that teachers, 
long before the advent of vertical writing, had learned 
that, despite all their insistence, children in general 
could not be made to hold the pen in this manner. The 
tiresome difficulty of this method is explained on ana- 
tomical grounds. When the child tries to hold the pen 
in the conventional manner of the writing-master, the 
ulna and the radius are out of their natural position, the /' 
one being twisted over the other, and held so by a strong / 
tension of the muscles. To maintain such a position, 
accompanied as it is by a somewhat rigid pressure upon 
the penholder by the thumb, index and middle fingers, 
is extremely fatiguing to the child. 

In vertical writing, on the contrary, the ulna and 
radius lie in their natural position while the hand moves t" 
on the side of the little finger at the end joint and, if | 
more support is necessary, on the projecting side of the 
hand near the wrist-joint. 

In connection with this rule for holding the pen it is 
necessary to add a word of caution, to the effect that 
some individual freedom must be permitted each pupil, 
as hands are not all formed alike. However, the posi- 
tion of the hand and of the pen in vertical writing are 
markedly different from the conventional position of the 
hand and pen in slanting writing. In the conventional 
way the knuckles of the hand are thrown up and the 



212 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

palm of the hand is down ; in vertical writing the 
knuckles next the back of the hand and the palm are in 
an upright position, or nearly so. In sloping writing, 
the pen is held alongside the upper joint of the index 
finger, sometimes in front of this joint, and points over 
the shoulder; in vertical writing, the pen lies some- 
where in the depression between the upper joint of the 
index finger and the upper joint of the thumb, and it 
points in a direction running outside the line of the arm. 
With this position of the pen, the ulna and radius lie 
so that there is not a strong tension of the muscles 
to hold them in their relative position. It will be seen, 
therefore, that because of this natural position of the 
hand, the pupil finds it easier to coordinate the muscles 
necessary for writing. When, however, there must be 
at the start a strong tension of the muscles to hold 
the ulna and radius in a difficult position, a hard condi- 
tion is imposed upon the child in learning to write. 
Some, indeed many, are never able under such a condi- 
tion to acquire thorough coordination so as to use the 
muscles for writing with ease and facility, and hence 
the angular and cramped handwriting so often seen. 

Third, the pupil must sit squarely facing his desk, 
with his feet resting fully on the floor. Both forearms 
should be equally placed on the desk, and the elbows 
should be held about a hand's breadth from the body. 
Fig. 59, facing page 210, shows the correct posture. 
The top of the desk, it will be noticed, is drawn down 



HANDWRITING 21 3 

to a minus distance of 3 in., and the desk top has a 
slope of fifteen degree|. 

It will be apparent that the elbows can be held in 
the position just stated only when the desk is of 
exactly the right height for the pupil sitting at it. 
If the desk is too high, the elbows will need to be 
thrown out from the body, for freedom of movement 
is most essential. To oblige the pupil to hold his 
elbows a hand's breadth from the body when the desk 
he sits at is too high for him, is to force him to take a 
constrained posture inimical to facility in coordinating 
his muscles. Easy writing demands easy coordination 
and control of the muscles involved. 

One-third of the time during the first years of the 
writing exercise should be given to rest. Let the 
pen be put down and the pupil relieved of the strain 
and tension of muscles caused by his efforts to co- 
ordinate and to gain facility of movement through 
the coordinations. 

In the end, it will also be found a gain to let pupils 
rise from their seats and relax the muscles which 
have become tired because of the inactivity imposed 
by sitting at the desk. After the interval, let the 
pupils take proper posture, dip pens, and write. Brief 
periods of writing, with intervals for rest, will be 
found to give the best results as to posture and the 
easiest acquirement of the coordinations of move- 
ments. 



214 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

The principles of vertical writing not properly re- 
garded — These principles, it is to be feared, have 
not been thoroughly understood, much less properly 
followed, in the rapid adoption and spread of the ver- 
tical script which the past eight years have witnessed 
in America. Copy-books and script charts for verti- 
cal writing have been abundant, but in too many 
cases with the same directions and illustrations as 
to pen-holding that belonged to slanting script. As 
I have already shown earlier in the chapter, the ver- 
tical hand with hygienic posture is incompatible with 
the conventional way of holding the pen employed 
in writing the slanting script. 

Better postures secured with vertical script — It is to 
be said, however, that those who have used the verti- 
cal hand with as careful a regard for its hygienic 
principles as the desks and seats of their schools per- 
mitted, have obtained incomparably better postures 
than they formerly obtained with the slanting script. 
With the vertical script, seven-eighths of the pupils 
sit in good postures while writing. We cannot say 
excellent postures, for these cannot be obtained with 
the kind of desks now generally in use in the schools, 
and with the general custom of giving the child pen- 
cil or pen in the first school years, and requiring of 
him writing exercises in letters of small size. 

Present methods of teaching writing condemned — 
Any teacher who will acquaint himself with certain 



HANDWRITING 21 5 

physiological facts and who will reflect upon their 
meaning, cannot fail to see that the usual methods 
of teaching writing are wrong from the start, and 
impose upon the child difficulties which in truth 
actually hinder his progress, fasten bad habits upon 
him, and at the end leave him, in a majority of cases, 
a poor writer. 

It is not sufficient to adopt the vertical hand, and to 
provide seats and desks with proper slant and ad- 
justable not only as to height but also as to minus 
distance. This in itself would constitute a great 
advance, if its adoption were general ; but notwith- 
standing the gain such an advance would be, our 
present methods of teaching writing must undergo a 
very considerable modification in view of certain scien- 
tific facts bearing directly upon the matter. The new 
method must be wrought out from the point of view 
of hygiene, not from the point of view of the routine 
practice of the schoolroom. For such a method must 
be consistent with the newer knowledge, and not in 
violation of it. 

Facility in writing easily and well involves an ac- 
quired power of initiating and controlling an innumer- 
able number of motor impulses, so that they shall result 
in the simultaneous and successful movements of the 
muscles necessary to guide the writing instrument. 
Learning to write, then, is a matter of slow and diffi- 
cult acquirement. Present methods of teaching writing 



2l6 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

ignore the anatomical stages that should be closely 
observed, if the pupil is to be made the best writer he 
is capable of being made. 

Let us consider for a moment the movements natural 
to the child when he comes to school. Comparatively 
speaking, the greater number of his movements are 
large and free. The movements of the muscles of the 
hand, the fingers, and the arm are not coordinated 
for guiding a fine point, as that of a pen or of a 
pencil, after certain linear forms. Yet we give him a 
pencil or a pen, put before his eyes certain forms, 
and set him to making those forms as best he may. 
When the child attempts to do this too many muscles 
act that are not necessary to the coordination. Not 
only do the various muscles that are necessary to pro- 
duce the movement act, but other muscles not needed 
in the coordination act with them. It is the action 
of the muscles not necessary to the coordination which 
bothers the child, and marks his efforts as crude, un- 
certain, and painful. He makes every effort to guide 
and control the motor impulses as to their intensity, 
duration, and succession, but he succeeds in this only 
in a rude way. The child, it will be seen, cannot 
control the energy. Its flow is diffuse, passing more 
or less into muscles which are not necessary to the 
coordination. The movements demanded of him are, 
therefore, too fine, and require too delicate an adjust- 
ment. The coordinations and their succession required 



HANDWRITING 21/ 

of him arc a long way in advance of his development 
in this respect. Not only, then, do we get awkward 
and uncertain movements of the hand from him, but 
there results, at the same time, a strain and rigidity of 
tension in the muscles of the hand and fingers which 
are tiresome and painful to the child in the extreme. 

The great difficulty arises from the fact that the move- 
ments required have not been naturally developed. The 
whole task is thrown upon the child at one time — the 
delicate coordination of muscles to produce fine and 
exact movements, the inhibition of muscles not in- 
volved. Under these conditions there results, as we 
have said, a rigid tension of the muscles. Further- 
more, it seems fair to assume that the fixation of the 
eyes upon the point of the pen and the pencil is also 
a factor in the producing of this rigid tension. Mosso 
is authority for the statement that there exists between 
the periphery and the centre such an intimate con- 
nection that patients who have lost the muscle sense 
can contract the muscles of the hand around an 
object and keep them contracted as long as they look 
at it. The friction of the pen also unquestionably 
enters as an adverse factor of influence in this rigid 
contraction of the muscles of the hand and fingers. 
For tests made by the writer clearly show that if the 
child is given a writing instrument which moves over 
the paper without appreciable friction, and with so 
blunt an end that he does not fixate his eyes upon 



2l8 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

it, and is then directed to make comparatively large 
the letters he is writing, the rigid and cramped con- 
traction of the muscles of the hand and fingers dis- 
appears. The resort to large movements with pen 
or pencil advocated by some teachers will not obviate, 
the writer feels assured from his tests and observations, 
the rigid tension of the muscles of hand and fingers 
in the first years of learning to write. 

The method to be employed — Only crayon should be 
used during the first months when the child is learning 
to make letter forms, and all practice in writing should 
be on the blackboard. The size of this first writing 
must be adapted to the stage of development of the 
child's power of muscular coordination. In other words, 
begin as to size where the child is. 

Some children will be able to make the first non- 
loop letters 3 in. in height. The muscular coordination 
of other children will be slower in its development, 
and they will need to make their non-loop letters per- 
haps 6 in. in height. This need not matter, as the 
children are writing on the blackboard. Gradually, as 
muscular control is developed by the child, the size of 
the non-loop letters should be reduced, until at length 
the non-loop letters are not more than 2 in. high. 

Alternate use of right and left hand — The question 
of learning to write is almost wholly a question of 
effecting easy coordination of muscular movements, 
a question of the child's gaining control in proper 



HANDWRITING 219 

sequence over his muscles. It follows, then, that when- 
ever he is required to make letter forms of small size 
which necessitate on his part muscular coordination 
beyond its easy and natural development, difficulties 
are imposed upon the child that unquestionably thwart 
true progress. It being, then, a question of the easy 
coordination of muscles, the development of control 
from the making of larger movements to the mak- 
ing of smaller movements, it will be found that 
the control of the right hand comes easier to the 
child if he is directed to use his left hand half or 
even a third of the time during the first stages of 
his learning to write. The reason for the advantage 
gained from this is not far to seek. In the free and 
active life of the child in play before coming to school, 
the energy has been drawn freely and to a considerable 
extent equally to each side of the body, and so ex- 
pended. Here, then, we have a tendency somewhat 
strongly established, with which we must deal when 
we ask him to use his right hand in writing. When 
we require of him that he shall use his right hand in 
making letter forms, he endeavors to direct the energy 
into certain muscles, and to inhibit its flow into others. 
But, as we have already stated, the flow of the energy 
necessary to produce the movements required is diffuse, 
going into muscles not needed as well as into those 
needed ; for he has not reached the stage of develop- 
ment in which he can direct the motor impulses into 



220 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

the particular muscles, and effect any coordination, to 
the exclusion of others. 

As the flow of energy has been about equal to each 
side of the body, the child, when he is using the right 
hand, must inhibit the flow of energy to the left side, 
and as he is able to do this to but a slight degree, the 
energy which has set naturally to the left side manifests 
itself in unneeded contractions. These may be recog- 
nized if the child is closely observed when learning to 
write. If, then, he uses the left hand a part of the 
time, it will be seen, first, that such use not only rests 
the muscles of the right hand, but it restores them to 
their uncontracted state; and when he returns to the 
use of the right hand, the very fact of relief and a new 
start gives him some gain in directing the energy into 
the muscles necessary, and the inhibition of its flow 
into the muscles not needed. Besides, by the employ- 
ment of the left hand, the energy is used up which, 
as we have seen, would otherwise expend itself in con- 
traction and uncontrolled movements of the muscles 
of the left arm and to some extent of the left side. 
It will be seen, then, that through this alternate use 
of the right hand and the left hand, the pupil is put 
into a position of advantage which helps him more 
readily to gain control of the muscles needed in the 
coordinations, and which also helps him to inhibit the 
flow of energy into the muscles not needed. 

Some might make the demand, on assumed physio- 



HANDWRITING 221 

logical grounds, that the writing with the left hand 
should be such that its movements would be in cor- 
respondence to the movements of the right hand, or, 
in other words, that the script written with the left 
hand should read to the left. The acquirement of 
a habit of this kind would be of no value to the child. 
Moreover, it is not a question of developing the power 
to write with the left hand in a way corresponding 
naturally to the movements of the right hand in writ- 
ing. It is a question of the value of the alternate 
use of the right hand and the left hand, a question 
of the child's advance in muscular control being en- 
hanced by the use of the muscles of one hand for a 
time, and then the use of the muscles of the other 
hand for a time. Through that alternation, he comes 
in the easiest manner into the conscious power of 
control over his muscles. 

Transition from writing at blackboard to writing at 
desk — The writer regards it most necessary that the use 
of crayons in writing on the blackboard be continued the 
whole of the first school year. The transition from 
writing at the blackboard to writing at the desk is a 
difficult one, and one in which the greatest care should 
be exercised. It will be seen that when the pupil 
writes at the desk many more of his muscles are inac- 
tive than when standing at the blackboard and mov- 
ing along as he writes with the crayon. Fatigue soon 
follows from inactive muscles which the sitting in the 



222 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

seat necessitates. Moreover, the muscular movements 
are somewhat different in making the letter forms on 
the slope of the desk from the movements when making 
them at the blackboard. The same freedom and ease, 
however, must be preserved. It will be found that here 
also some work must be given the left hand, or there 
will result strong contractions of the muscles from the 
natural set of energy to the left side. This set of 
energy to the left side manifests itself in the drawing 
of the left hand toward the side, the dropping of the 
head to the left, and the bending of the spine to the 
left, a posture harmful in the extreme to the child, 
and one requiring that every means should be 
resorted to to prevent it. 

In the transition from blackboard writing to writ- 
ing at the desk, pen and ink are not to be considered, 
and the ordinary lead-pencil is to be included in this 
category. It has been pointed out in an earlier part 
of -this chapter that the friction of the pen or the 
pencil on the paper, and the fixation of the eyes upon 
the point, impede the easy coordination of the mus- 
cles on the part of the child. The friction, then, of 
the pen or pencil upon the paper, and the effects 
resulting from the fixation of the eyes upon the point 
of the pen, may be obviated by the use of a crayon 
composed of wax and pigment, and covered with paper. 
These crayons are known as the Franklin Checking 
Crayons, or Wax School Crayons. They make a 



HANDWRITING 223 

coarse black mark, and there is no appreciable fric- 
tion in their use. There is no small point with its 
unfavorable effect. The child's attention, therefore, 
is unhampered in this particular, and is fully given 
to the movements. 

In this connection, it may be remarked that the 
size of the crayon that is put into the child's hand 
at this stage makes no perceptible difference as to 
ease of coordination, provided the diameter of the 
marking instrument is not less than -| of an inch. A 
series of tests and observations was made by the writer, 
using lead-pencils and pens and holders, in which the 
size of the penholder was increased to I in. in diam- 
eter. Some relief was afforded the child by this, but 
it did not lessen those clutching and strained move- 
ments well known to every teacher. This experiment 
served a most useful purpose in revealing the fact 
that the friction of the pen or pencil on the paper is 
a factor that may be remedied. 

Employment for the left hand — Having set forth the 
proper instrument for the beginner to use in writing 
at the desk, and having shown the necessity that some 
employment be given to the left hand in writing, there 
arises the question of devising some means that will 
give the left hand this active employment. It will be 
found that it is not enough to ask the child to hold the 
paper firmly on the desk with the left hand. Such use 
is not sufficient, for the left hand will in a brief time 



224 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

be drawn down on the paper nearer the child's side ; 
shortly, the arm and elbow will drop below the desk, and 
the child fall into that objectionable posture which has 
already been referred to. The device of using strips of 
paper 5 or 6 in. wide and 3 or 4 ft. long will remedy this. 
It may be remarked that the kind of paper for this use 
is printing paper of the cheapest grade, with no gloss 
and a slightly rough surface. As the pupil writes a 
word let him move the paper along, thus keeping the 
writing directly in front of him and neither to the right 
nor to the left. By this means, the active employment 
of the left hand will be found sufficient to obviate the 
dropping of the head and the bending of the spine to 
the left and the drawing of the left arm down below 
the desk and nearer the side. 

It will be found advisable and profitable to continue 
this plan for a year. Then the pupil can be given a 
pencil, but with wax filling instead of graphite. Blais- 
dell's pencils are excellent, because by unwinding the 
paper the child can sharpen his own pencil. Instead of 
strips of paper, a sheet of paper of the same quality as 
that used for the long strips may be given him, but 
rather large, 8J x 10 in. After the use of this for a 
term, or better a year, he is ready to employ the pen, but 
the pen which he first uses should be a very coarse one. 

Freedom and ease of movement the aim — The aim 
from first to last in the teaching of writing should be 
freedom and ease of movement. The coordination of 



HANDWRITING 225 

muscles must not be hastened, but allowed to come 
naturally. Nicety and exactness of form are not to be 
held up as an ideal. These, while necessary, must 
be secondary to equilibrium and ease of movement, 
which should be gradually guided into ease in preci- 
sion of movement. The movement, it should be said, 
must be one of the whole arm from the start till the 
child reaches the seventh school year. No finger move- 
ment must be permitted. When the child has acquired 
with the arm ease and precision in the writing of sen- 
tences, all requisite finger manipulations of the pen will 
come naturally and unconsciously. The pupil must not 
be urged to acquire speed, until he has acquired ease and 
precision in the movements of the arm. This is usually 
not attained much before the seventh school year. For 
the sixth school year a speed of eight to ten words, of five 
letters each, a minute is all that should be required. By 
the end of the seventh school year, a speed of from twelve 
to fifteen words a minute is all that should be expected. 
Recent recommendation of intermedial slant — Recently 
there has been a rejection of the vertical hand on the 
part of some systems of schools, and an adoption of 
what is termed the intermedial slant. This is simply a 
new name for the slant of 75° which was advocated for 
a long time in Great Britain and the Colonies by the 
late Vere Foster. This slant is here shown. 



226 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

As a compromise, it is, of course, to be acknowl- 
edged that this is a decided gain over the much more 
injurious slant of 52°, the Spencerian slant, which 
prevailed almost universally in this country up to 
1892. The reasons adduced for the change to the 
intermedial slant were that in the use of the vertical 
script there seemed to be a small tendency to back- 
hand, the writing was said to be slower, and it was 
reported that there existed an objection on the part of 
business men to the vertical hand. 

In regard to the recommendation of change from 
the vertical to the intermedial slant, it is to be said 
that the results and conclusions in favor of vertical 
writing reached by able investigators, many of whom 
were physicians, cannot be so easily set aside. Con- 
clusions reached after long and thorough investiga- 
tions cannot be disregarded or turned down without 
a thorough and systematic presentation of new facts 
discovered which would modify the previous conclu- 
sions. Empirical judgment as to the failure of the 
vertical script, where conditions have been most un- 
favorable, where not one per cent of the desks at 
which the pupils wrote were adjustable even as to 
height alone, not to mention minus distance and the 
proper slope, and where a full knowledge of the 
hygienic principles involved in vertical writing was 
not disseminated, cannot be accepted as of scientific 
value. 



CHAPTER XI 
Conditions conducive to Healthful Mental Work 

Fatigue — In 1879 Sikorsky published the results of 
a series of experiments to determine the effects of 
mental work throughout the five hours of the school 
day, upon the child's mental power. The results of 
the next investigation, made with the same end in 
view, were published by Burgerstein in 1891. Since 
that time more than a dozen investigators in Europe 
and America have worked upon the problem of 
fatigue. After reading these investigations, one ques- 
tions whether such a complex matter as mental 
fatigue, indubitably involving many factors in varied 
relations, can be measured or determined by the 
methods employed in these studies. And it may 
be said that the investigations have brought out 
very little, if any, new guiding knowledge. While, 
however, they have added very little, if any, new 
knowledge to guide teachers, they have nevertheless 
served a useful end in drawing attention to the dan- 
ger of overpressure from school work, and accord- 
ingly they serve to put teachers on their guard in 
this particular. They serve, moreover, to emphasize 

227 



228 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

a fact well known in medicine, namely, that when 
mental application on the part of the pupil is carried 
beyond a certain limit, not only is more lost under such 
conditions than is gained in developing the mental 
powers, but also the nervous mechanism receives 
impairment from which it must recover before the 
pupil is able to put forth again normal and healthful 
application. And further, if the over-mental applica- 
tion on the part of the pupil goes on day after day, 
permanent injury results to the nervous mechanism, 
which may reveal itself in several ways : in a difficulty 
which the mind experiences in applying itself to the 
gaining of knowledge, in an inability to retain clearly a 
series of ideas or to acquire more complicated forms of 
mental activity, or in some other pathological condition. 

It should be remembered that the effort which a 
pupil must put forth in order to acquire new ideas and 
to organize them, in other words, to elaborate present 
processes of thought into more complex processes, uses 
up mental energy much more rapidly than teachers and 
instructors are likely to realize. 

Minds, moreover, differ greatly in the amount of 
energy which they are capable of putting forth to ac- 
quire the different kinds of knowledge. There are 
also individual differences in the same person. One 
study may prove easy of acquirement, while another 
study will prove difficult. Furthermore, overpressure 
frequently comes, not so much from the fact that the 



HEALTHFUL MENTAL WORK 229 

pupil is inherently incapable of making satisfactory ad- 
vancement in a subject, as from the fact that he is put 
at the subject too early, or in other words, before his 
powers are sufficiently developed to enter upon a profit- 
able pursuit of the subject. 

It must also be said that some teachers cannot 
present subjects as clearly as other teachers, and that 
under teachers whose presentation is lacking in direct- 
ness, clearness, etc., pupils must put forth a greater 
amount of effort, and accordingly use up a greater 
amount of energy. Taking into consideration these 
facts, individual promotion according to the capacities 
which pupils show is one means of obviating overpres- 
sure. There are several plans of such promotion in 
operation, and excellent results have been achieved by 
the individual promotion of pupils. The most carefully 
developed plans are those in Cambridge, Mass. ; Keene, 
N. H. ; Woburn, Leominster and Middleboro, Mass. ; Le 
Mars, Iowa ; and the North Side schools of Denver. 

The plan of electives pursued in the high school of 
Galesburg, 111., should be mentioned in this connection. 
The largely increased attendance, as well as the greater 
number of students who pass well in certain subjects 
that before the adoption of the elective systems caused 
many failures, are significant in their bearing upon 
overpressure, individual capability, and readiness. 

The daily programme — The daily school programme 
may be so arranged as to become a factor contributing to 



230 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

fatigue. In order to obviate fatigue, the daily programme 
should be arranged so as to engage successively different 
kinds of mental activity on the part of the pupil ; in 
other words, one kind of mental activity should not be 
unduly continued. A proper arrangement brings a 
variety of exercises, and through variety relief for any 
one set of mental powers is afforded. The most taxing 
work should come when the children are freshest, which 
is during the first hour in the day. Pupils think better, 
their memory is better, their reaction time shorter at 
this hour. The practice, therefore, which has grown 
out of the experience of teachers for a long time, of 
putting mathematics the first thing in the morning, is 
a safe one, for the computations which mathematics 
involves are tiresome and monotonous, and the associa- 
tions to be formed in the study of this subject, because 
of their abstract nature, are taxing in a high degree 
upon the mind. 

Apart from mathematics, it cannot be said in just 
what order studies should come. This must be left 
to the observation and judgment of the teacher. We 
know, however, apart from the pedagogical investiga- 
tions upon fatigue, that subjects requiring little men- 
tal effort should come in the afternoon, for Donaldson 
states that there is a tendency to run down toward 
the middle of the afternoon, with a return of vigor 
later in the day. 

Gymnastics cannot be regarded as altogether rest. 



HEALTHFUL MENTAL WORK 231 

They require brain work. They give rest in a certain 
way, but not complete rest. They should not take 
place after fatigue from brain work, nor be given 
after three hours of close study and recitation. 

Other points that should be borne in mind, not 
only in the arrangement of the daily programme, but in 
carrying it out, are that inactivity on the part of the 
child from sitting in his seat too long is a factor 
productive of fatigue. There should, therefore, be 
as much change from sitting as possible. Again, 
there should be as much rest from severe strain upon 
the eyes as possible, as eye strain is unquestionably 
a prominent cause of fatigue. The work should be 
arranged to avoid protracted reading, and the teacher 
should be especially careful in regard to the strain 
put upon the eyes on dark days. 

A recess in the middle of the morning and of the 
afternoon session unquestionably relieves the pupil from 
mental effort. Bringing into vigorous activity physical 
powers and with these, mental powers not called into 
activity in the schoolroom, it must therefore ever be 
regarded as a wise preventive of some of the effects of 
fatigue. 

The length of the periods given to recitation in the 
various school years is an important matter. It will 
be found that much more can be gained by short, 
intensive periods of recitation, followed by activity of 
a different nature, than can be gained by long periods 



232 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

of recitation. The mistake is constantly being made 
in the arrangement of school programmes of requiring 
pupils to give attention for too long a period. A safe 
guide as to the length of recitations for the different 
school years is as follows : for the first year the recita- 
tion in any subject ought not to exceed lo minutes; 
for the second year, it ought not to exceed 15 minutes, 
but should oftener be but 10 minutes in length ; for the 
third year, 15 minutes; the fourth year, 20 minutes; 
the fifth year, 20 minutes ; the sixth year, 25 minutes ; 
the seventh, 25 minutes, to possibly, under some con- 
ditions, 30 minutes ; for the eighth year, 30 minutes ; 
in the first year of the high school, it ought not to 
exceed 40 minutes ; and for any of the higher years 
in the high school, it ought not to exceed 45 minutes. 
Long sessions — One continuous session lasting till 
half-past one or two o'clock, as in many high schools, 
even though there is a short recess, is unquestionably 
detrimental to mental and physical health. The objec- 
tions are that pupils go too long a time without food, 
or with a slight and insufficient lunch. With so long 
a session, pupils do not reach home until half an hour 
or more after the time of dismissal. By the time the 
midday meal is eaten it is about mid-afternoon. This, 
on hygienic grounds, is extremely bad. Too often the 
breakfast eaten is a slight one. The exactions of the 
morning recitation and study are severe. The con- 
tinual mental exertion and tension of the morning leave 



HEALTHFUL MENTAL WORK 233 

pupils in a condition not favorable to digestion. The 
period from breakfast to lunch or dinner, as the case 
may be, is a long one, and the pupil is likely to eat 
too much, and is not in a condition to digest a heavy 
meal. If high s<;hools must hold one continuous ses- 
sion, then time should be given for a proper lunch 
some time during the morning, and some supervision 
should be instituted by school authorities to see that 
the ill effects upon health of improper food taken at 
these lunches may be avoided. 

Some schools provide a counter at which pupils may 
purchase a mid-morning lunch ; but the kinds of food 
offered, and the selections which boys, and more 
especially girls, make are pernicious to digestion and 
health. When such counters are established, the 
articles of diet offered should be limited to simple and 
nutritious kinds, with milk and bouillon. 

The noon intermission, where schools have a full 
morning and afternoon session, should be of greater 
duration than an hour. A school may safely run up 
to twelve o'clock, provided there is afterward a noon 
intermission of an hour and a half. 

Hours of study out of school — Little study should 
be required of pupils in the elementary grades outside 
of school — none whatever before the seventh school 
year, and not to exceed three-fourths of an hour daily 
for that year ; for the eighth school year, not to exceed 
one hour. If parents ask that their children be given 



234 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

some task for occupation at home to aid in estab- 
lishing habits of industry and self-reliance, home work 
involving activities of construction, the use of the hand 
in conjunction with the eye, may be assigned. Con- 
structive work of manual character will fully answer 
such a purpose. It is concrete and engages the child's 
interests. It is educative in the highest degree for the 
child at this period, and is of immeasurably greater value 
to him in all that makes for true mental development 
than sitting down at his table and acquiring lessons 
from books. 

Examinations — There is great danger of over 
mental exertion during examination week. An exami- 
nation in the upper grades of the elementary school 
should not last more than an hour and a half, and 
in the high school it ought not to exceed two hours. 
Some States and many high schools bring two exami- 
nations on the same day, one in the morning and one 
in the afternoon. When the strain under which pupils 
are placed who undergo examinations is considered, 
when the long preparation, sometimes until late the 
evening before, and sometimes studying before com- 
ing to school, is borne in mind, it must be apparent 
without any argument that the strain put upon pupils 
by a week of examinations is very great. It ought 
not, therefore, to be compounded by setting two 
examinations on the same day. 



CHAPTER XII 
Diseases which concern the School 

The remarkable advances in medical science dur- 
ing recent years have brought to common knowledge 
the nature of certain dangerous diseases and their 
propagation. Vital statistics plainly show that wher- 
ever the measures recommended for the prevention 
of such diseases are observed, the spread of those dis- 
eases is largely checked and mortality surprisingly 
reduced. The school, because it assembles children 
from different homes and brings them into close con- 
tact, becomes under certain conditions a medium for 
the spread of infectious and contagious diseases. The 
newer knowledge of the specific cause and propaga- 
tion of such diseases imposes a new duty upon school 
authorities, making it incumbent upon them to exer- 
cise every care and precaution lest the school become 
an agent in spreading disease. Regard for individual 
rights requires that no child shall be exposed in 
school to contagion or infection, if by taking certain 
precautionary measures such exposure may be avoided. 

The establishment of medical inspection of schools 
would bring about satisfactory conditions, as in each 

235 



236 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

case the matter would be in the hands of a carefully 
trained physician, whose authority in the exercise 
of measures which he deemed wise and necessary 
under any emergency that might arise would not 
be questioned. But medical inspection of schools, 
though now instituted in some systems, is a matter, 
so far as its general adoption is concerned, of the 
future. Wherever, then, medical inspection of schools 
does not exist, the teacher must be relied upon to 
detect any symptoms which may be suspected to be 
those of communicable diseases, and to exercise promptly 
such measures as will prevent exposure of the other 
children of the school. When doing this, there will 
unquestionably occur instances in which alarm will 
later prove to have been unfounded. Nevertheless, 
the teacher, through the measures taken, places the 
entire school on the safe side. It is inconceivably 
better, therefore, that every now and then a suspected 
case should prove to be unfounded, than that a single 
child in a condition to communicate infection should 
be allowed to remain at school, and as a result the 
disease be spread in several homes. 

We shall enter here upon a brief description of dis- 
eases which concern the school. Some of these are 
communicable, others are not. We shall describe as 
best we may the symptoms which accompany the 
advent of the disease, and shall suggest what school 
authorities and the teacher should do in cases of com- 



DISEASES WHICH CONCERN THE SCHOOL 237 

municable diseases, and also what may be done to 
ameliorate the effects of the other diseases to be men- 
tioned. A description of the various symptoms can 
be given only in a general way. Of course it is appar- 
ent that no exact descriptions can be given which 
will prove an infallible guide. In some cases a physi- 
cian would be in doubt, and would be unable to decide 
until the symptoms became more pronounced. 

Diphtheria — Diphtheria ranks first among the dis- 
eases which we shall mention, as to mortality. Since 
1 891 the cause of diphtheria has been known to be 
a bacillus. The bacillus was described by Klebs in 
1883, and isolated by Loeffler in 1884. The bacilli 
of diphtheria generally gain a lodgment on the mucous 
membrane of the throat or nose from air that is 
breathed, or by direct contact from pencils, slates, 
drinking cups, or some other article upon which they 
have been deposited. As soon as the bacillus is 
lodged, it grows rapidly, forming what is termed the 
diphtheritic membrane on the mucous membrane of 
the tonsils, larynx, or nose. The disease is spread 
by bacilli or germs coming from the excretions from 
the throat, mouth, or nose of those affected with the 
disease. Everything which comes in contact with the 
mouth, or upon which discharges of the mouth, throat, 
or nose find a lodgment, may therefore spread the 
disease. The bacilli of diphtheria are capable of pro- 
ducing infection for a long period after their discharge 



238 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

from a person having the disease. They have been 
found to be virulent after seven months. The dis- 
ease, then, may be spread from the dust of the ex- 
cretions which have fallen upon clothing, upon books, 
carpets, or walls, and the bacilli may even adhere to 
particles of ordinary dust. It will, therefore, be seen 
how essential the most thorough disinfection is, and 
how stringently it must be insisted upon by school 
authorities before a child who has had diphtheria can 
be readmitted to school. 

The symptoms which must guide the teacher in 
suspected cases are sore throat, which may or may 
not be accompanied by a chill, irritability, and ner- 
vousness showing itself in a trembling of the hand 
in writing. There is usually not much fever, from 101° 
to 102°. 

Should it prove that the child has diphtheria, all 
pupils from the same household should be excluded 
from school, and should not be allowed to return to 
school except upon the statement of a physician that 
it is safe for them to do so, and that their return 
will not endanger others. As the diphtheria bacillus 
has been found in the throat several weeks subse- 
quent to seeming recovery from the disease, it will 
be seen that a safe period of time must be imposed 
before readmission to school. Because of the duration 
of infectiousness, three weeks is the shortest time, in 
severe cases, after the membrane has disappeared, in 



DISEASES WHICH CONCERN THE SCHOOL 239 

which a pupil is to be readmitted to school, unless 
culture tests made in the laboratory show that there 
is entire absence from the throat of the bacilli. In 
mild cases the quarantine should be imposed for ten 
days. In either case, school authorities would be on 
the safe side in requiring, before the readmission of 
the child, a medical certificate stating that a labora- 
tory culture shows the throat to be free from bacilli. 
Scarlet fever — Scarlet fever is one of the most 
contagious diseases, and the school, even though the 
greatest care is exercised, may become an agent in 
the insidious spread of this disease. It is not yet 
known what the nature of the contagium of scarlet 
fever is, but analogy suggests that it is due to a 
micro-organism. It is spread by inhaling the conta- 
gium. The disease is communicated by the scales 
which peel from the skin during recovery, by dis- 
charges from the mucous membrane, which is espe- 
cially "involved" in the course of the disease. It is 
also highly probable that scarlet fever is communi- 
cated by all excretions, even including the perspira- 
tion of the patient. The germs of the disease may 
be taken in from bed-clothing, carpets, curtains, and 
the furniture of the sick-room, from books, and from 
the clothing and shoes of the patient. Instances are 
on record where the disease has been spread by food, 
especially milk, and by domestic animals. Scarlet 
fever may be spread from"' the beginning of the 



240 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

appearance of the first symptoms, even before the 
appearance of the rash. What makes scarlet fever 
a disease so much to be dreaded is, first, the insidi- 
ous manner in which it is propagated ; second, the 
fact that mild cases are as contagious as severe 
cases ; third, that the contagium from a mild case 
may result in a severe attack of the disease ; and 
lastly, that children may have scarlet fever in a mild 
form and be at school, and the disease not be de- 
fected, because the peeling may be so slight as not 
to be recognized. 

The germs of scarlet fever, if disinfection has been 
neglected, may remain in clothing, especially woollen, 
and communicate the disease for an indefinite period 
afterward. 

The invasion of the disease manifests itself usually 
by vomiting, a sore throat, and an increase of tem- 
perature. Later the rash appears, showing itself 
first upon the neck. In mild cases the symptoms are 
not so evident. The temperature may be from ioo° 
to 103°. The appearance of any of these symptoms 
in a child would warrant the teacher in sending the 
child immediately home, and notifying the proper 
authorities. 

School authorities are thoroughly justified in estab- 
lishing the most rigid quarantine upon children who 
have had scarlet fever, as well as upon children from 
households where a case has occurred. At least six 



DISEASES WHICH CONCERN THE SCHOOL 24 1 

weeks should elapse from the first symptoms of the 
disease before the child is readmitted to school, and 
even then before the child is allowed to return to school 
a certificate should be required from the physician to 
the effect that the scaling is thoroughly over, and 
stating in addition to this that the child is suffering 
from none of those complaints which follow scarlet 
fever, as the fever may be spread from some of the 
diseased conditions resulting from the attack. Children 
of a household in which a case of scarlet fever has 
been reported should be excluded from the schools 
during the period of the active progress of the disease. 
The length of time which such children should be 
quarantined is on the average one month. It becomes 
necessary to make this stringent requirement lest 
such children might themselves have the disease in 
so mild a form as not to be recognized. This stringent 
rule is warranted for another reason, namely, that in 
many homes the complete isolation of the patient, as 
well as the rigid precautions to be observed against the 
communication of the disease, cannot be carried out 
in nursing a patient, and therefore the other children 
of the family are likely to bear the contagium on 
their clothing, and thus be carriers of the disease. 

Epidemics of scarlet fever are most frequent in the 
fall and winter, occurring less seldom in the summer. 
During periods of an epidemic of scarlet fever, as well 
as of diphtheria, the schools should be closed. 



242 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

If a child has been exposed to the contagium of 
scarlet fever and a week passes without there being any 
symptoms, the probabilities of infection are very small. 

Measles — Measles is a very contagious disease. Its 
exact cause has not yet been ascertained. Analogy 
would suggest that it is due to a micro-organism, but 
up to the present time all efforts made to isolate the 
suspected germ have proved futile. The contagium 
of measles is spread with great rapidity from a person 
sick with it, before the eruption appears. The disease 
is communicated on very short exposure, and nearness 
to a patient is not necessary. The contagium of 
measles is unlike that of scarlet fever in that it does 
not persist for a long period. The disease is rarely 
spread by clothing, or by the furniture and walls of 
the sick-room. 

The disease may make its appearance after exposure 
in from seven to twenty-one days. The symptoms 
which characterize the beginning of an attack of 
measles are sneezing and a discharge from the nose, 
eyes becoming red and sometimes running, together 
with sensitiveness to light. There is frequently a 
hoarse, hard cough and soreness of the throat. Some- 
times the attack, especially when epidemics prevail, 
is accompanied with high fever. Headache, a feeling 
of dulness, and pains in the back are not in themselves 
to be regarded as symptoms of measles, for these 
accompany the invasion of many diseases. 



DISEASES WHICH CONCERN THE SCHOOL 243 

Measles is generally regarded by the public as a dis- 
ease which among school children results in little mor- 
tality, and also as a disease which nearly every person 
contracts at some period of life, the first attack giving 
immunity, as a rule, from any further attack. School 
authorities, therefore, are likely not to take adequate 
measures to prevent the spread of this disease. While 
it is true that in children of school age an attack of 
measles is usually mild, it is not so with infants, with 
children of delicate constitutions, or with children in 
which there is a predisposition to pulmonary disease of 
any kind. Efforts, therefore, should be made to restrict 
the spread of measles to the utmost, in order to protect 
infants and those children in whom the disease entails 
evil results. A child showing any of the symptoms 
spoken of should be immediately sent from school and 
kept from school at least four weeks. The children of 
the same household should not be permitted to attend 
school while any members of the family are sick with 
the disease, as owing to the rapid spread of this disease 
from patient to patient, the invasion of the disease may 
occur at school, and the disease be spread to a great 
number of pupils. 

A medical certificate in the case of" measles does not 
seem necessary when the child returns to school, pro- 
vided he has been excluded from school the proper 
time. 

Epidemics of measles occur with greatest frequency 



244 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

and severity during the spring months, and occur with 
least frequency and are mildest in the autumn months. 

Whooping-cough — Whooping-cough is a disease that 
is rarely attended with fatal results or serious conse- 
quences with children of school age, but because of its 
mortality during the period of infancy, especially in the 
first year, it is a disease greatly to be dreaded. Two- 
thirds of the deaths resulting from whooping-cough are 
of children in the first year of infancy. The cause of 
the disease has not yet been ascertained. It is thought, 
however, to be due to some micro-organism. The dis- 
ease is spread by proximity to a child having it, and 
close proximity is not necessary. The disease may be 
communicated from the very beginning of its invasion, 
which is called the catarrhal stage. It is not definitely 
known how long a given case may communicate the dis- 
ease. It is pretty well established, however, that the 
disease may be communicated throughout the spasmodic 
stage. The symptoms at the beginning of this disease 
are not such that they are recognizable from an ordi- 
nary cough. In some cases the child will whoop from 
the beginning of the disease. In other cases the child 
will have a paroxysmal cough for several weeks before 
any pronounced whoop is noticed. 

For the reasons already stated with reference to its 
fatal results in infancy, the disease is one which en- 
dangers public health. Therefore a child with whoop- 
ing-cough should not be allowed to attend school. The 



DISEASES WHICH CONCERN THE SCHOOL 245 

quarantine should be enforced for two months from the 
beginning of the attack. 

Mumps — Mumps is one of the contagious diseases. 
It is characterized principally by a swelling of the paro- 
tid glands. The disease is spread by close contact, 
but it is much less contagious than any of the diseases 
thus far mentioned. Children are not greatly suscep- 
tible to the contagium of this disease. Statistics show 
that only a small number of those exposed to the disease 
contract it. The disease may be communicated for 
several days after the swelling has subsided. As mumps 
is a mild disease, there is little danger to be feared 
from it, except in the case of boys during adolescence. 
A child having the disease should not be allowed at 
school, and should be quarantined for three weeks from 
the beginning of the disease, or for ten days after the 
disappearance of the swelling. It will be safe to 
^exclude a child who has contracted mumps from school 
for three weeks. 

Varicella; Chicken pox — It is not necessary to say 
anything upon this communicable disease, which is 
usually a mild one, except that a child having it 
should be excluded from the school for three weeks 
after the appearance of the first symptoms. 

The habit of spitting — From the descriptions which 
have been given of communicable diseases, it will be 
seen how potent a factor in their spread are discharges 
from the throat and nose. The mucus so discharged 



246 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

dries, with the result that the germs it contains are car- 
ried about by the air. It is now well established that 
saliva itself contains many species of micro-organisms. 
They are brought to the mouth by breathing air which 
contains them, and in other ways as well. They are 
arrested by the moisture of the mouth and are then 
gathered quickly in the saliva. The sputa of persons 
having consumption contain the germs of this disease, 
and it is now thoroughly established that consumption is 
spread by air containing the germs disseminated from the 
dried sputa of those suffering from this disease. It will 
be seen, therefore, that the habit of spitting is a great 
contributory factor in the spread of certain infectious 
diseases. Through an enlarging public appreciation of 
its dangers, concerted efforts are now being made to 
restrict and also to prohibit the practice of spitting in 
public buildings and in the streets. The school should en- 
list itself in such an important movement as this. While 
it is true that in all well-conducted schools such a prac- 
tice as spitting on the floor is not tolerated, and while 
it is true that the use of saliva on slates is not per- 
mitted, yet the school must do more than this. It can 
achie\^e very lasting results, and at the same time 
greatly extend a knowledge of the dangers ensuing from 
the practice of spitting, by enlisting the pupils' interest 
in the matter through instructions accompanied by 
pictures of the bacilli, projected by a lantern upon a 
screen. In every school, at some time during the year, 



DISEASES WHICH CONCERN THE SCHOOL 247 

all the grades might be assembled and instruction of 
this kind given. Such instruction would not only ex- 
tend to the home and the public, but it would also prove 
of incalculable influence in leading pupils to form the 
habit of never expectorating and also in inducing them 
to keep up that habit after leaving school. 

Contagious conjunctivitis — This affection of the lining 
membrane of the eyelids and of the periphery of the 
eyeball is commonly known as "pink-eye." It is the 
most frequent contagious disease of the eyes incident 
to school life. Its cause is a micro-organism of the pus- 
forming variety. The disease is conveyed by anything 
which comes in contact with the discharge. The hands, 
handkerchief, clothing, washcloths, sponges, and towels 
are the usual means of communicating the germs. 
During some recent outbreaks of the disease the 
epidemic was spread by means of the bath water in 
public bathing houses. Filthy water may itself con- 
tain the germs and thus communicate the disease to 
those who bathe in it. When the disease appears in 
one member of the school it is altogether likely to 
become epidemic. 

The signs of the affection are redness of the eyeball 
and lining of the eyelids, a discharge from the eyes, 
at first watery, but later becoming mucous, and finally 
yellow and sticky from the amount of mucus and pus 
present. The eyelids are apt to be glued together in 
the morning. Sensitiveness to light is another symptom. 



248 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

Unless energetic treatment is undertaken when the 
disease makes its appearance, it is likely to persist 
for a long time, and serious damage to the delicate 
structure of the eye may result. A pupil, therefore, 
having the disease, must be immediately excluded from 
the school and be kept away until pronounced entirely 
well by a physician. The necessary further precaution 
against the spread of the disease in school is the thor- 
ough cleansing, with some antiseptic solution, of the 
balustrades, the desks and seats of the affected pupils, 
the doorknobs, and the parts of the doors which come 
in contact with pupils' hands. 

Chorea — Chorea is a nervous disease of a functional 
nature, and is characterized by peculiar and unusual 
contractile movements of voluntary muscles. This 
disease is most frequently found in children from seven 
to fourteen years of age. More than twice as many 
girls are subjects of the disease as boys. The disease 
occurs much oftener in the spring months than in any 
others, though it may be met with at all seasons of the 
year. The disease is usually very gradual in its ap- 
proach, and the first symptoms are those of nervousness. 
The child shows a lack of power over certain muscles, 
which manifests itself in a difficulty on his part to 
write or to command his hands in such fine movements 
as he has been wont to execute, and also in dropping 
things. A delicate twitching of the hands may often 
be detected by the teacher, if he holds the pupil's hands 



DISEASES WHICH CONCERN THE SCHOOL 249 

lightly in his own, before the twitching is evident to 
the eye. Sometimes the disease first affects the legs. 
Stumbling characterizes the child's walking, and he 
finds difficulty in going upstairs. In some cases the 
disease first shows itself in twitchings of the muscles 
of the face or of the eye, associated with a difficulty 
of articulation. The symptoms of this disease are 
so characteristic, and are so unlike any other move- 
ments of the child, that they cannot be mistaken. 
A fright is frequently an exciting cause of chorea, 
especially when tendencies and previous conditions 
have rendered the child predisposed to this disease. 
An anaemic condition of the system in the greater num- 
ber of instances is a predisposing factor. Worry over 
lessons, too severe study coupled with continued sleep- 
lessness, nervous anxiety on the approach of examina- 
tions, and even punishment at school, if the child 
deems it unfair, are important factors in bringing 
on an attack of chorea. 

A child afflicted with chorea should, of course, for 
his own welfare, be immediately removed from the 
school, as recovery from the disease under proper 
treatment and care is usually a matter of only a few 
weeks. If circumstances are such that the child is 
not removed from school, the teacher must deal with 
the child with extreme care. No demands should be 
made by the teacher upon him. Work may be as- 
signed as it is to the other members of the class, 



250 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

simply that the child may be recognized as are the 
other pupils in the class. He should be left, how- 
ever, to accomplish what he may, and no adverse com- 
ment or corrections of errors and mistakes should be 
made, as this would tend to disconcert the child and 
aggravate his nervous disorder. As the disease in 
those predisposed sometimes arises from imitation, the 
child should be given a seat in that part of the grade 
or class where its facial twitchings or spasmodic move- 
ments will be noticed as little as possible by the other 
pupils. The teacher should also protect the child at 
recess and dismissal, so that he may not be annoyed or 
teased by the inconsiderate and irresponsible members 
of the class. 

Adenoid growths — In the vault of the pharynx there 
is a spongy tissue which resembles somewhat the tissue 
of the tonsils in its structure. It is a very common 
occurrence for this tissue to grow excessively and 
become so large as to exert considerable pressure in 
the region occupied by it in its natural conditions. 
Such growths are adenoids. On account of this 
growth the child feels constantly a pressure in the 
head, he is unable to breathe freely through the nose, 
and his hearing is frequently affected. He cannot, 
therefore, give the attention that is expected of him 
to lessons and school exercises. Memory seems to 
be defective in such cases. For these reasons, the 
pupil affected is usually pronounced dull. The char- 



DISEASES WHICH CONCERN THE SCHOOL 25 1 

acteristics by which the teacher may judge whether 
a pupil has adenoid growths are a stubborn nasal 
catarrh accompanied by mouth breathing and slight 
deafness. The voice has a " nasal " quality. The 
child experiences much difficulty in blowing the 
nose ; frequently he is entirely unable to do so. The 
expression of the face in adenoid growth is stupid 
and dull. Children with adenoid growths are more 
liable to contract tonsillitis and diphtheria than other 
children, and attacks of these diseases, as well as of 
scarlet fever, measles, and whooping-cough, are likely 
to be much severer in type than with other children. 
If it is possible the adenoid growths should be re- 
moved. On their removal there is noticeable a very 
great improvement mentally in the patient. The 
child's memory is much improved. He gives atten- 
tion easily, and his progress at school is noticeably 
greater. 

Pediculosis — The most frequent parasitic disease 
is due to one of the varieties of the common louse. 
Head lice are more likely to be found among unclean 
and poorly nourished children. Their presence may 
produce, through irritation, impetigo. This is con- 
tagious and sometimes spreads among children. 

The signs leading one to suspect the presence of 
head lice are scratch-marks on the forehead or behind 
the ears. These scratch-marks may be accompanied 
by the enlargement of the small lymph kernels at 



252 SCHOOL HYGIENE 

the back of head. Careful inspection of the scalp 
or of the hat or hood in a good light may reveal the 
parasite itself — a gray-backed creeping insect, about 
one-twelfth of an inch in length. More frequently, 
however, the parasite is not found, but the eggs or 
*' nits " may be discovered on the hairs, about a half 
an inch from the roots. The " nits " are little glis- 
tening oval bodies, about one-twentieth of an inch in 
length. They are drab in color and are attached to 
the hair with their smaller end directed toward the 
scalp. 

A pupil whose head is infested with these parasites 
should be excluded from school and not readmitted 
until careful examination of the scalp and hair shows 
no sign of the parasite. 

The head may be rid of the parasites and ** nits " by 
wrapping the head for two successive nights in cloth 
wet with either tincture of larkspur or kerosene. The 
head should be thoroughly washed each morning after 
the application, with castile soap and water. The cap, 
hat, or hood should be thoroughly cleansed with kero- 
sene or the tincture, and, if feasible, afterward washed 
in soap and water. As tincture of larkspur is poison- 
ous, care must be taken to keep it away from the 
mouth. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



OF THE MORE IMPORTANT BOOKS AND ARTICLES CON- 
SULTED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS WORK 

Allport, Frank. Tests for Defective Vision in School Chil- 
dren. Educational Review, New York, 1897. 

Barnes, Henry J. The Arid Atmosphere of our Houses in 
Winter. Concord, N.H., 1896. 

Billings, John S. Ventilation and Heating. Pp. 500. New 
York, 1893. 

Billings, Mitchell, and Bergy. The Composition of Expired 
Air and its Effects upon Animal Life. Smithsonian Con- 
tributions to Knowledge, Vol. 29. Abstract in the Annual 
Report for 1895. 

Bowditch, H. p. The Growth of Children studied by Gal- 
ton's Method of Percentile Grades. Twenty-second 
Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Massachu- 
setts, 1890, pp. 479-522. 

Briggs, Warren R. Modern American School Buildings. 
New York, 1899. 

Hygienic Construction of the Bridgeport High School 
Building. Third Annual Report of the Connecticut State 
Board of Health. Hartford, Conn., 1879. 

Burgerstein und Netolitzky. Handbuch der Schulhygiene. 
T. Weyl, ed. Jena, 1895. 

Burk, Frederick. Growth of Children in Height and Weight. 
American Journal of Psychology, April, 1898, Vol. IX, 
No. 3. 

253 



254 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

BuRNHAM, W. H. Outlines of School Hygiene. Pp. 9-71. 

Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. II, No. i. Worcester, Mass., 

1892. 
Carpenter, Alfred. The Principles and Practice of School 

Hygiene. With illustrations. London, 1887. 
Carpenter, Rollo C. Heating and Ventilating Buildings. 

New York, 1896. 
Chrisman, Oscar. The Hearing of Children. Pedagogical 

Seminary, Vol. II, pp. 391-441. Worcester, 1892. 
Clark, Hannah B. Sanitary Legislation affecting Schools in 

the United States. Report of Commissioner of Educa- 
tion, 1893-1894, pp. 1301-1349. 
ConN, Hermann. Lehrbuch der Hygiene des Auges. Wien 

und Leipzig, 1892. 
CoHN, Hermann. Hygiene of the Eye in Schools. London, 

1886. 
Dukes, Clement. Health at School considered in its Mental, 

Moral, and Physical Aspects. Pp. 498. London, 1894. 
Dukes, Clement. Work and Overwork. Pp. 69. London, 

1893. 
FiTZ. Play as a Factor in Development. American Physical 

Education Review, December, 1897. 
Griffing and Franz. On the Conditions of Fatigue in Read- 
ing. Psychological Review, September, 1896. New York. 
Hartwell, Edward M. Report of the Director of Physical 

Training. School Document No. 8, 1894. Boston. 
Hartwell, Edward M, Report of the Director of Physical 

Training. School Document No. 4, 1895. Boston. 
Holt, L. Emmett. The Diseases of Infancy and Childhood, 

pp.1117. New York, 1897. 
Howell, Wm. H. An American Text-book of Physiology, 

pp. 1052. Philadelphia, 1897. 
Lincoln, D. F. School and Industrial Hygiene. No. 12 of 

the American Health Primers. Philadelphia, 1880. . 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 255 

Lincoln, D. F. Report of Committee on School Hygiene to 
Section on State Medicine, Forty-fourth Annual Meeting 
of American Medical Association. Chicago, 1893. 

LuKENS, H. T. The School Fatigue Question in Germany. 
Educational Review, Vol. XV, pp. 246-254. New York. 

LuKENS, H. T. Mental Fatigue. American Physical Review, 
pubhshed by the A. A. A. P. E. Vol. IV, Nos. i and 2. 
Cambridge, 1899. 

Marble, A. P. Sanitary Conditions for Schoolhouses. Circu- 
lar of Information No. 3, 1891. Bureau of Education, 
Washington, D.C. 

Morrison, Gilbert B. The Ventilation and Warming of 
School Buildings. New York, 1887. 

MosHER. Habitual Postures of School Children. Educational 
Review, March, 1897, pp. 261-272. New York. 

Porter, W. T. The Physical Basis of Precocity and Dulness. 
Pp. 20. Academy of Science of St. Louis, Mo., 1893. 

RiSLEY, S. D. School Hygiene in System of Diseases of the 
Eye. Norris and Oliver, Vol. II. Philadelphia, 1897. 

Sanford, E. C. The Relative Legibility of the Small Letters 
of the Alphabet. American Journal of Psychology, Vol. I, 
No. 3. Baltimore, 1888. 

ScuDDER, C. F. Investigation into One of the Etiological 
Factors in the Production of Lateral Curvature of the 
Spine. — Reasons why the seating of school children should 
receive very careful supervision. School Document No. 9, 
1892. Boston, Mass. 

Wheelwright and Chandler. Municipal Architecture in Bos- 
ton. Boston, 1898. 

Wilson, W. M. Atmospheric Moisture and Artificial Heating 
in Proceedings of the Convention of Weather Bureau 
Officers. Washington, D.C, 1898. 

Young, A. G. Seventh Annual Report of the State Board of 
Health of Maine, pp. 83-385. Augusta, Me., 1892. 



INDEX 



Air: 
cooling of, 103. 

expired, 69. 

humidity of, 87. 

means of humidifying, 94. 

pressure of, 80. 

purity of supply of, 84. 

renewal of, 76. 

table of degree of humidity of, 98. 

temperature of schoolroom, 86. 

test of humidity of, 96. 

vitiation of, 69. 

washing and filtering of, 85. 
Anemometer, 99. 
Audiometer, 198. 

Basement, 34. 
cement floor objectionable, 35. 
construction to exclude moisture 

34- 

furnace room, 35. 
Baths, school : 

in Berlin, Germany, 130. 

in Boston, Mass., 130. 

in Chicago, 111., 134. 

in Giessen, Germany, 129. 

in New York City, 132. 

in Zurich, Switzerland, 130. 

purpose of, 128. 
Blackboards, 27. 

size of, 28. 

size of writing on, 179. 

troughs under, 28. 
Briggs, Warren, R. : 

experiments with air inlets and out 
lets, 82. 
Building : 

corridors, 36. 

daily cleaning of, 118. 

s 257 



entrances to, 36. 

material for, 31. 

number of stories in, 33. 

periodical cleaning of, 121. 

position of, 32, 

trim and walls of, 42. 

value of thorough construction, 30. 

Chairs, desk, 147. 

adjusting of, 153. 

hip rest on, 149. 

hip rest, adjusting of, 154. 
Cloak-rooms : 

arrangement of, 45. 

placing of, 44. 

size of, 43. 
Copy-books, 181. 
Corridors, 36. 

doors in, 37. 

lighting of, 37. 

width of, 36. 
Crayons, colored, 126. 

Desks : 
adjustableness of, 138. 
adjustableness for plus and minus 

distance, 142. 
adjusting of, 154. 
arrangement of, 26. 
cleaning of, 123. 
effect upon postures, 139. 
Heusinger, 150. 
Ideal, 152. 

neglect in adjusting of, 155. 
plus distance, effect of, 140. 
requirements of, 135. 
single, 150. 
slope of top of, 143. 



25S 



INDEX 



Diseases which coneeiti the school : 

adenoid growths, 250, 

chorea, 248. 

conjuctivitis, 247. 

diphtheria, 237. 

means of preventing spread of, 255, 

m,easles, 242. 

mumps, 245. 

pediculosis, 251. 

scarlet fever, 239. 

spitting factor in spread of, 245. 

varicella, 245. 

whooping-cough, 244. 
Disinfection : 

books, 125. 

pencils, 124. 

Examinations, 234. 
Eyesight : 

duty of parents, 183. 

effect of color of ink upon, 181. 

effect of copy-books upon, 181. 

effect of fine maps upon, 182. 

effect of irradiation upon, 173. 

effect of light upon, 185. 

effect of lighting upon, 170. 

effect of color of paper in books 
upon, 179. 

eifeet of postures upon, 182. 

effect of printed text upon, 171. 

effect of sewing upon, 183. 

effect of slates upon, 181. 

effect of too much writing upon, 182. 

effect of size of writing upon black- 
board upon, 179. 

testing of, 191. 

Fatigue : 

investigations on, 227. 

means of obviating, 229. 

school programme factor of, 229. 

study out of school, 233. 
Floor plans, 46. 

defective, 48. 
Floors, 41. 

attic, 42. 

basement, 34, 

dustless oils for, 122. 

finished with cove, 41. 

latrines, ui. 



Furniture, school, 135. 
foot-rest, 150. 

Glass, factory ribbed, 12. 
Grounds : 

character of, 59. 

draining of, 60. 

entrances to, 64. 

grading of, 62. 

location of, 58. 

ornamentation of, 63. 
Ground air, 61. 
Ground water, 59. 
Growth of pupils : 

variation in, 137. 

Handwriting : 

aim, 224. 

alternate use of hands, 218. 

blackboard and desk work, 221. 

employment for left hand, 223. 

holding pen in, 21a 

intermedial slant, 225. 

method to be employed, 218. 

oblique-central position of book, 203. 

postures affected by, 214. 

present methods of teaching, 214. 

reasons in favor of vertical script, 
208. 

rules for teaching of vertical script, 
209. 

slanting script, 202. 

spinal curvature produced by, 200. 

straight-central position of book, 
206. 

use of crayons, 222. 
Hearing : 

audiometer, 198. 

testing of, 195. 
Heating : 

direct, 67. 

direct-indirect, 67. 

hot air, 66. 

hot water, 65. 

indirect, 67. 

steam, 65, 
Height of pupils, variation in, 136. 

Illumination, 8. 
amount of, 10. 



INDEX 



259 



glass surface, 9. 

obstructed sky line, 11. 
Ink, color of, 181. 
Irradiation : 

illustrations of, 173. 

tests of, 183. 

Latrines, no. 

deodorizers in, ill. 

dry closets, 113. 

floor of. III. 

lighting of, III. 

outhouses for country schools, 113. 

ventilation of, no. 

water-closets, 112. 
Letters of alphabet i 

alterations needed in, 173. 

degree of legibility of, 171. 
Lighting : 

artificial, 184. 

electric, 185. 

gas. 188. 

Holophane globes for electric, 186. 

Holophane globes for gas, 189. 

natural, 8. 

Welsbach burner, 189. 
Luxfer prisms, 14. 

Organic matter : 

in air, 70. 

in soil, 60. 
Outlet flue : 

heat for, 68. 

Paper in school books : 

color and surface of, 179. 
Periods of relief, 161. 
Physical exercise, 162. 

daily periods for, 168. 

greater attention to, 166. 
Platform for teacher, 29. 
Playgrounds, 63. 

covering of, 64. 
Plumbing, 115. 
Postures : 

affected by desks and seats, 139. 

bodily deformities, 157. 

eyesight affected by, 182. 

home responsible for, 165. 



in sitting, 158. 
in standing, 162. 
Programme, daily school : 
examinations, 234. 
gymnastics, 230. 
Inactivity, 231. 
length of periods, 231. 
long sessions, 232. 
lunches, 233. 
mathematics, 230. 
noon intermission, 233. 
recess, 231. 

Recess, 166. 

Rooms, disposition of, 45. 

Sanitation, 115. 
Schoolroom : 

amount of illumination in darkest 
part of, 10. 

arrangement of desks, 26. 

color of walls, 22. 

cubic feet of air space per pupil, a. 

direction light may enter, 14. 

for primary grades, 4. 

form of, 2. 

lighting of, 8. 

placing of windows, 21. 

size of, 2. 

square feet of floor space per pupil, 
2. 

unit in planning building, i. 

windows of, with obstructed sky line, 
II. 
Shades, colcw and arrangement of, 24. 
Site: 

elevation of, 62. 

size of, 62. 
Slates, injury to eyesight from use of, 

181. 
Soil, 59. 

organic matter in, 60. 
Stairways, 37. 

box, 38. 

handrails for, 38. 

height of risers, 40. 

width of treads, 40. 

Thermometer : 

dry and wet bulb, 96. 



26o 



INDEX 



Type in school books : 
proper size of, 175. 
size for various years, 178. 
test of, 177. 

Urinals : 

construction of, 112. 

Venetian blinds, 26. 
Ventilation, 68. 

by use of windows, 108. 

gravity system of, 78. 

how to measure, 98. 

in city and town school buildings, 
100. 

in rural schools, 106. 

in village schools, 104. 

inlet, 84. 

means of, 77. 

mechanical, 78. 

necessity of, 72. 

out-of-doors, 76. 

outlet, 84. 

place and size of outlet and inlet, 82. 

plenum plan of, 78. 

vacuum plan of, 78. 



Ventilating fans: 

centrifugal, 80. 

disk, 79. 
Vestibules, 36. 

Wainscoting, 43. 
Walls, color of, 22. 
Water : 

drinking cups, 117. 

drinking fountains, 117. 

reservoirs, 118. 

source of, 118. 

supply of, 116. 
Windows : 

arched, 18. 

cleaning of, 124. 

glass surface in, 15. 

height of, 18. 

in halls, 37. 

length of, 19. 

number of panes in, 22. 

piers between, 17. 

placing of, 21. 

position in schoolroom, 15. 

sills, height of, 19. 



THE TEACHERS' PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY 

Under the General Editorship of Nicholas flurray Butler, Professor of Philosophy 
and Education in Columbia University. 

The contributors to this series will be leading teachers and students of education in 
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By David Eugene Smith, Principal of the State Normal School at Brockport, N.Y. 
Cloth, i2mo. $i.oonet. {Now Ready.) 

CONTENTS 
Chapter I. Chapter VIII. 

Historical Reasons for Teaching Arith- Typical Parts of Algebra, 

metic. 



Chapter II. 
Why Arithmetic is Taught at Present. 

TT A -^L ^- 1. T^ 1 J What is Geometry ? General Suggestions 

How Arithmetic has Developed. "fnr Tearhpr<; 



Chapter IX. 
Growth of Geometry. 

Chapter X. 



Chapter IV. 

How Arithmetic has been Taught. 

Chapter V. 

The Present Teaching of Arithmetic. 

Chapter VI. 

The Growth of Algebra. _ Chapter XIII 

Chapter VII. 



for Teachers. 

Chapter XI. 
The Bases of Geometry. 

Chapter XII. 
Typical Parts of Geometry. 



The Teacher's Book-shelf. 



Algebra — What and Why Taught. Index. 

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This volume will mark a departure from the conventional treatment of the subject of 
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of a given size determined by the appropriation, and then divided up into schoolrooms, 
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definite conclusions. Much new material on the subject is presented. The chapters are: 
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Baths, School Furniture, Postures and Physical Exercise, Eyesight and Hearing, The 
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4 E N T 



60 FEET. 



L O E R B 



40 FEET. 



T A E N L V 



30 FEET. 



Y r E V O T P 

20 FEET. 

Fig. 6o. ' 



MAY 22 190 



